Dogwood Community Support

Each year the tournament dedicates proceeds from sponsorship dollars to local charities whose mission, vision and goals align with the invitational’s profile. This year the tournament has added the Press On to CURE Childhood Cancer Fund in honor of a Druid Hills Golf Club members Erin and Stephen Chance, who formed The Press On Fund in 2006 after their son Patrick Chance was diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma. “Patrick passed away in January 2012 after a five year battle with this childhood cancer,” said Edward Toledano – chairman, the Dogwood Invitational. “And the opportunity to honor Patrick’s memory and his courageous spirit by helping fund medical research focused on novel and less toxic therapies for neuroblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia (“AML”), is something  our tournament is honored to be a part of.”   

 
The Atlanta Junior Golf Association and the Wayne Reynolds Scholarship Foundation will also continue as beneficiaries of the Dogwood Invitational for 2013.
 
Press On to CURE Childhood Canceris a named fund of CURE Childhood Cancer, Inc., a non-profit with a long-standing reputation for supporting families and funding childhood cancer research. Press On funds novel, innovative, and less toxic therapies for neuroblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), two of the deadliest pediatric cancers with some of the poorest pediatric cancer survival rates. Founded in 1975, Atlanta, Georgia-based CURE Childhood Cancer has raised millions of dollars for research and ongoing education of pediatric cancer and is focused on supporting childhood cancer experts, locally and nationally, who work daily to discover a cure for pediatric cancer. For more information go to www.pressonfund.org
 
One of The Dogwood’s goals is to raise funds and awareness to help junior golf succeed in touching the lives of as many junior golfers as possible. We support AJG in an effort to expand its programs throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area and continue teaching kids the game. The AJG prides itself on a variety of programs for over 1,400 junior golfers ages 7-18 keeping the game alive for our youth. 
Atlanta Junior Golf traces its origins to 1974 (initially the DeKalb Junior Golf Association) when a local sports writer for the DeKalb County weekly paper, Mike Bentley, recognized the need for a junior golf program in the Atlanta area. During its inaugural season, 99 boys and girls registered to play a schedule of a half dozen events. The cost was $2. The season-ending Grand Championship, held at Pinehurst #2, closed out a successful first season and laid the foundation for the successes AJG has realized since.
Since that first year, AJG quintupled its membership over the next ten. By 2000, the membership peaked at more than 1,600 junior golfers. In all, it is estimated that AJG has helped introduce more than 10,000 junior golfers to the game. 
 
The Dogwood is proud to support The Wayne Reynolds Scholarship Foundation (WRSF), because the Foundation helps qualified junior golfers with their college tuition. The purpose of the WRSF Financial Aid Program is to encourage and promote the attainment of higher educational goals for students who have demonstrated successful participation in a junior golf program in Georgia.  The Foundation will provide yearly grants for deserving undergraduate students at accredited two or four year colleges or universities. 
The WRSF was founded by Wayne Reynolds, a long time member of Druid Hills Golf Club. Wayne wanted to leave something special for the Club, a benefit to the community and wanted to give the members of Druid Hills something to be proud of. Wayne and his family chose to help junior golfers with an opportunity to attend college by establishing the four year $3,000.00 annual Reynolds Scholarship awarded to those kids who qualify.
 
Since its inception in 1998, the Reynolds Scholarship has been awarded to 25 junior golfers who attended schools such as University of Georgia, Clemson, Columbus State, Georgia State, Oglethorpe and Mercer University. Each year the board of the Reynolds Foundation reviews 150 plus applications for the scholarship.
 
The Atlanta Junior Golf Association and The Wayne Reynolds Scholarship Foundation are non-profit, tax-exempt organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. They are funded through memberships, sponsorships and contributions. Contributions to the AJGA and WRSF are tax deductible by individuals and corporations alike. Separate volunteer boards govern the activities of the associations.