WM Phoenix Open

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/b6LuM7lmjQI”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1603994259255{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Continuing with The Thunderbirds In the Community Conversations, last year’s WM Phoenix Open tournament chairman Tim Woods held a virtual discussion with Dr. Wayne Franklin, accomplished cardiovascular surgeon, Co-Director of Phoenix Children’s Heart Center and Director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH). The two leaders discussed healthcare challenges surrounding the current pandemic and how PCH modified its operations to stay safe while providing world-class healthcare here in the Valley of the Sun.

The Thunderbirds – hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open – and PCH have a long-standing friendship. To date, The Thunderbirds have provided more than $2.6 million in donations to PCH from monies raised from the popular golf event including a $500,000 donation in 2015 and a $400,000 donation in 2019 which was used to double the size of the hospital’s cardiovascular intensive care unit and fund new, state-of-the-art equipment.

Dr. Franklin spoke about how COVID-19 has impacted the hospital and the cardiovascular unit.

“Us in healthcare, we were all really just very challenged,” said Dr. Franklin. “One of the things we were able to do was provide and make sure that both patients and employees were safe. COVID-19 has been terrible, but one of the really, really good things to come out of it is really pushing forward our telemedicine and our remote monitoring. We’re now moving towards being able to examine patients remotely, like having the virtual stethoscope or the virtual EKG, virtual otoscope and other sort of things for other types of medical subspecialties as well.”

Dr. Franklin went on to explain how the community can get involved with PCH

“We want to be able to provide the best care for all of our patients in any specialty…but we also want to hear from you,” said Dr. Franklin. “Meaning, even as parents, if we’re not doing what we need to do or you guys have suggestions, we are very open. We have a very closely involved Family Advisory Council where we hear feedback from the families to help improve things. Like Tiger Woods used to say ‘if you’re not improving, you’re just standing still.’ So we really want to do that at PCH.”

To learn more about PCH, visit their website here.

To donate to PCH, click here.

To give in other ways, click here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Today’s In the Community check in is with Thunderbirds Big Chief Tim Woods and Elena Zee, President and CEO of Arizona Council on Economic Education (ACEE). Zee and Woods discussed the current challenges surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, what ACEE is doing to respond to current challenges and what immediate and essential needs they require to continue to provide educational services throughout the Valley and Arizona.

The Arizona Council on Economic Education is dedicated to teaching every Arizona student economic and financial literacy, and workforce development to help them in their adult lives. Through their strong, affiliated academic base with universities and community colleges, partnerships with the Arizona Department of Education and the Federal Reserve Bank, ACEE prepares teachers and students so they may learn personal finance, economics and entrepreneurship – all skills young people need as they grow older.

Thunderbirds Charities, the charitable giving arm of The Thunderbirds – hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open – has been a generous supporter of ACEE, providing monetary funds for operational and capital needs to empower thousands of students each year.

During the conversation, Zee spoke about how community involvement is essential to a thriving economic education program.

“The number-one key [around community involvement] is advocacy,” said Zee. “Advocate for the program to make sure schools continue to provide these personal finance and economics education opportunities to the students. The second-best way to get involved is volunteering because the schools are still trying to find their anchor and figure things out. And finally, financial support always helps. It’s nonstop every day.”

To learn more about ACEE or make a donation, visit their website.

To volunteer with ACEE, CLICK HERE.

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The Thunderbirds began nearly a century ago with the mission to promote the Valley of the Sun through sport. These days, the primary sport used to raise money for charity and create Scottsdale tourism interest from all over the world is golf, specifically the Waste Management Phoenix Open. But, as we see in this installment of In the Community Conversations, the impact of The Thunderbirds – and their charitable giving arm Thunderbirds Charities – is a positive impact on all kinds of sports, coaches and youth in our communities.

Scott Jenkins, 2021 WM Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman, recently sat down with Rich Tomey, Executive Director of the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to discuss the impact of the current health crisis on their organization and youth sports in general and how they’ve continued their mission of creating positive, character-building youth sports environments without direct, in-person contact.

“With no school, no sports, no nothing in a lot of states, we had to change the way we do things,” said Tomey. “A lot of kids and coaches are dealing with the disappointment of not playing and we’re trying to keep people together. We had to utilize a lot of technology through Zoom and other methods and become a leader in that aspect of training.”

Tomey then spoke about the importance of using sports to teach life lessons and how those lessons help children and young adults through their critical and formative years.

“Roughly 70 percent of kids typically drop out of sports right at that 13 or 14-year-old mark,” said Tomey. “That’s the tipping point of high school and middle school. So, someone who is coming from middle school going into high school loses out on great life lessons right when they need them the most.”

Like almost all nonprofits, Positive Coaching Alliance relies heavily on donations from the community.

“Without the support of Thunderbirds Charities and other donations over the years, we would definitely not be as impactful as we have been,” said Tomey. “Honestly, without the support of the community, we wouldn’t be able to be as impactful as we are. We’re extremely grateful to Thunderbirds Charities.”

To learn more about PCA, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE.

To donate to PCA, CLICK HERE.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]