Over €60,000 Raised for Barnardos at the Irish Open

02 August 2011

Barnardos, Ireland’s leading children’s charity, has benefitted to the tune of over €60,000 through a wide variety of fundraising initiatives at the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland. Genworth’s Putts4Charity was at the forefront of the fundraising with the inclusion of the Putts4Charity One Putt Pledge, which saw €5 donations from the Genworth Foundation, the charitable arm of Genworth, and the Tour Players Foundation, the charitable foundation of The European Tour, for each single putt made by the players competing at the €1.5million event, held at the Killeen Course at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club last week.

The players made 2,360 single putts and, with the additional generosity of the spectating public who also made pledges, just short of €26,000 was raised through this One Putt Pledge initiative. Genworth’s Putts4Charity Champions Challenge also took place in the Tented Village on the purpose-built putting green, comprising four holes which replicate iconic putts holed by European Tour professionals over the years.

Throughout the week, spectators visited the Putts4Charity stand to test their putting skills. They were also able to support some of the Tour professionals and celebrity commentators from Thursday to Saturday, as they competed against one another to hole as many one putts as they could. From this competition, an additional €7,000 will be donated by the Genworth Foundation to Barnardos children’s charity.

Other fundraising activities saw an overwhelming reaction from the general public, with thousands of people paying €5 each to watch Wednesday’s Irish Open for Business Pro-Am, and the Pro-Am competitors also played their part by helping to raise over €13,000 before the tournament began.

All week, the Family Fun Zone presented by Liebherr entertained children away from the course, with the €1 entry charge contributing further towards the total amount raised for Barnardos.

Finally, Kartel, the Official Clothing Supplier of the 2011 Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland, donated 50 per cent from each sale of the replica shirts that were worn by Padraig Harrington during the event, which added in excess of €5,500 to the total for Barnardos.

The €60,301 raised through the fantastic generosity of all concerned will enable Barnardos to work with underprivileged children and families across Ireland.

Fergus Finlay, Chief Executive of Barnardos, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with this fantastic result. Thank you so much to the European Tour and Genworth, and especially to the public who gave so generously over the five days. It is support from events like the Irish Open which allow us to continue our work with the children and families who need it most, so once again a huge thank you to everyone.”

David Park, Charity Executive of The European Tour, said: “This is a wonderful result for the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland and The European Tour who, through the Tour Players Foundation, are committed to charitable initiatives and fundraising at events. To see the generosity of both the public and sponsors such as Genworth come together in support of such a worthy cause as Barnardos was fantastic.”

Markus Clavin, Marketing Director for Genworth, said: “This is a brilliant outcome for Barnardos, who do so much great work for children across Ireland. The continued enthusiasm and generosity of the players and the general public in participating in our Putts4Charity initiatives has helped raise close to €800, 000 across European Tour events since its inception, which is a fantastic achievement.”