GREENSBORO, N.C. (August 14, 2012) – Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN), one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, today announced that the Company has become a Trustee of The First Tee, a nonprofit youth development organization that provides life skills and character education programs to young people using golf as the platform. The announcement was made at the Wyndham Championship by Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., chief executive of The First Tee and Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and chief executive officer of Wyndham Worldwide.
With a shared focus on improving the lives of young people, Wishes by Wyndham, the philanthropic foundation of Wyndham Worldwide, has committed to supporting The First Tee and their programs and initiatives including their character education and Nine Healthy Habits curriculum. A donation of $1 million will be made over the next five years.
“We are thrilled to be able to take our partnership with The First Tee to a broader level, and help expand its reach to children across the United States and beyond,” said Holmes. “As one of the core values of Wyndham Worldwide, we aim to improve the lives of our customers and support our communities, best reflected by our Wishes by Wyndham charitable foundation and through such partnerships as we have with The First Tee.”
The relationship between Wyndham Worldwide and The First Tee began in 2011, when The First Tee of the Triad (N.C.), one of the organization’s chapters, was named the “Charity of Choice” winner during the 2011 Wyndham Championship held each August in Greensboro, NC. Spectators at the tournament voted throughout the week for their favorite charity at the tournament, which is the last stop on the PGA TOUR before the playoffs. After the tournament trophy ceremony, The First Tee of the Triad was announced the winner and presented with a $100,000 contribution by Wishes by Wyndham.
“The First Tee is honored to have Wyndham Worldwide become a Trustee of The First Tee,” said Barrow. “With Wyndham Worldwide’s support, we will continue to positively impact the lives of young people as we work to carry out our ambitious efforts to reach 10 million additional young people between 2011 and 2017.”
In addition to its support of The First Tee, Wyndham Worldwide also supports the American Junior Golf Association, which is dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who to aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf, through the Wyndham Cup held every year in July in Wilmington, N.C.
About Wyndham Worldwide
As one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide offers individual consumers and business-to-business customers a broad suite of hospitality products and services across various accommodation alternatives and price ranges through its premier portfolio of world-renowned brands. Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses over 7,170 hotels with approximately 608,300 rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals offers leisure travelers, including its 3.7 million members, access to approximately 100,000 vacation properties located in approximately 100 countries. Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of over 160 vacation ownership resorts serving over 813,000 owners throughout North America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Wyndham Worldwide, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., employs approximately 27,800 employees globally.
For more information about Wyndham Worldwide, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com.
About the Wyndham Championship
Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the seventh oldest event on the PGA TOUR. Additional tournament information is available at wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office at (336)379-1570.
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CONTACTS:
Alyson Johnson
Vice President, Communications and Marketing
Wyndham Worldwide
Office: (973) 753-6759
Alyson.johnson@wyn.com
Rob Goodman
Wyndham Championship Director of Media
(336) 299-4321
rob@3-gsports.com
