Coachella Valley Youth Golf Foundation

Thank you Anderson Children’s Foundation, a partnership that is changing Lives Across the Coachella Valley

First Tee - Coachella Valley is deeply grateful to the Anderson Children's Foundation for the generous grant that made one of our most exciting milestones possible: the purchase and installation of our new classroom and office trailer at The Lights at Indio Golf Course.

This is not just a trailer. It is a home base. It is the first permanent First Tee presence in the East Valley, a dedicated space where kids from Indio, Mecca, Thermal, and North Shore can walk in, feel welcomed, and discover everything that this program and this game have to offer. Before this classroom existed, the communities we serve in the East Valley had no local hub for First Tee programming. The Anderson Children's Foundation helped change that, and we are forever grateful.

The Anderson Children's Foundation's generosity has extended far beyond the East Valley. Your past support has also helped fund our First Tee Schools Program, which today reaches 22,000 young people annually across 33 active school locations throughout the Coachella Valley. From Palm Springs to Indio, your investment has helped put First Tee coaches, curriculum, and life skills programming directly into the schools where our kids already are. That reach, that access, and that impact would not be possible without partners like you.

The East Valley communities surrounding The Lights at Indio are among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged in the entire Coachella Valley. The families who live there are hardworking and resilient, and their children deserve every opportunity to succeed. First Tee - Coachella Valley is committed to making sure they have it.

How Your Support Will Continue to Grow Our Impact

With your continued partnership, First Tee - Coachella Valley we will maximize programming at The Lights at Indio through low-cost and no-cost programming for East Valley youth. This investment will directly fund:

· Year-round programming at The Lights at Indio serving elementary, middle, and high school students. Summer programming and camps at The Lights and PGA TOUR Superstore in La Quinta. Professional coaching, complete lesson plans, and First Tee life skills curriculum. Equipment and supplies for all participants at no cost to families. Transportation to and from The Lights at Indio for youth from across the East Valley.

Through our East Valley programming, we currently serve participants at The Lights at Indio alone, offering age-based classes, Girls Golf, Open Practice, summer camps, and community partnership programs with the Boys and Girls Club of Coachella Valley, the Desert Recreation District, and the Indio High School Golf Team. Every program is offered at no cost or low cost to families, and we provide transportation for youth who need it. Our goal is to reach 3,000 children through East Valley programming, giving each one access to equipment, trained coaches, outreach and support, and the safe and welcoming environment of our East Valley home that your foundation helped build.

The Anderson Children's Foundation believed in our East Valley vision before it was a building. You helped us put down roots in a community that needed them. Now, with your continued support, we can make sure that every child in the East Valley who wants to play golf, learn life skills, and discover their own potential has a place to do exactly that.

Thank you for being part of this story. The best chapters are still ahead!

First Tee of Coachella Valley (FTCV) is one of 150 chapters across the United States dedicated to teaching golf and essential life values to children aged 4 to 18. Our Coachella Valley chapter was founded in 2007 and currently provides golf and life lessons to over 23,000 young people each year, which represents approximately one-third of the total youth population in our region. We operate as a program of the Desert Recreation District.

FTCV fulfills its mission in three primary ways: 1) More than 3,000 boys and girls participate annually in six-week sessions and camps at our Golf Center in Palm Desert; 2) Over 23,000 elementary school students from 32 desert schools receive First Tee instruction through their physical education courses each year (First Tee trains P.E. instructors and provides golf equipment to the schools at no cost to either the schools or the children); and 3) FTCV serves the community by offering opportunities for hundreds of participants to engage in local programs that benefit mentally and physically challenged children, as well as Boys & Girls Clubs and other youth organizations across the valley.

We are also expanding into the East Coachella Valley with our new modular classroom at The Lights at Indio, which is set to open over the summer. This classroom/office will enable us to expand programming in Indio and transport East Valley kids to a green grass facility more easily and efficiently.

Funds from the Anderson Children’s Foundation continue to support First Tee – Coachella Valley’s in-school and after-school golf programs across the valley.

Funds from the Anderson Children’s Foundation will help support First Tee – Coachella Valley’s in-school and after-school golf programs across the valley in Desert Sands and Palm Springs Unified elementary schools. We also operate six green grass golf facilities with 9-Week Programs in Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and Indio impacting some 12,945 children. After school programs, operated by Desert Recreation District team members, currently have 13 active sites reaching 2,400 children. Golf is a part of the fabric of Coachella Valley’s lifestyle, and we believe all local children should experience the life skills and core values inherent in the game and to have the opportunity whether they have access to a golf course. Our purpose is to enable kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By teaching kids First Tee’s Nine Core Values, we aim to put them on course to a healthy, active lifestyle. No child is turned away because of financial circumstances.