Thursday, May 19, 2011

Over a hundred of beneficiaries representatives and community leaders gathered at East-West Center in May 2011 to celebrate the success of the 2011 Sony Open PGA TOUR golf tournament, which enabled event charity host, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., to distribute $1,000,000 in charitable grants to over 160 Hawaii not-for-profit organizations. The record numbers of grant recipients serve Hawaii children, women, elderly and its impoverished. The Sony Open "Drive to a $Million" charity effort was supplemented by The Friends Club membership donations, and the million-dollar goal was achieved because of the significant charity partnership of The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., which matched funds raised at the event dollar-for-dollar.

"Despite weather-related challenges encountered during tournament week, we were able to meet our $1 million charity goal. This unexpected development, combined with the current economic climate, clearly elevates our gratitude for the commitment of event title sponsor Sony Corporation and loyal charity partner, The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., as well as for the support of dedicated sponsors, Friends Club members and volunteers," said Corbett Kalama, President of Friends of Hawaii Charities and Chairman of the Grants Committee. "The Sony Open in Hawaii serves as a catalyst to rally friends of Hawaii from around the world to bring blessing through Hawaii charities to its people."

The 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii was punctuated by many ‘firsts' in the tournament's 13-year history. Severe weather conditions necessitated a PGA TOUR decision to cancel the Official Pro-Am Tournament (Wednesday), delay the First Round (Thursday) and to combine the Third and Fourth Rounds for 36-hole play on Sunday. Another first was the tournament's climatic final stages shot and broadcast live in 3-D via a partnership between the PGA TOUR and Sony Corporation. The 3-D coverage was produced and distributed to U.S. households by Golf Channel and Comcast.

The Sony Open beneficiary grants program began in 1999 when Friends of Hawaii Charities distributed $256,000 to 43 charities. This week, the organization celebrates seven consecutive tournament seasons of distributing $1 million to Hawaii charities. Charity grant recipients represent a broad spectrum within the not-for-profit community, encompassing established as well as grass-roots services ranging from basic needs and health care, to culture and education programs directed toward fulfilling the mission of Friends of Hawaii Charities to mobilize resources for assisting women, children, the elderly and those in need.

Friends of Hawaii Charities, a federal 501 (c) (3) public charity is an all-volunteer organization, incorporated in 1998 to benefit not-for-profit organizations serving Hawaii's children, youth, women and needy. Over the past thirteen years, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., with Sony Open charity partner, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., raised more than $11,000,000, which has been distributed to over 350 Hawaii not-for-profit organizations. For more information, please call (808) 792-9339 or visit www.friendsofhawaii.org