Wendy's Walk for Kids named 2012 Champions Tour Charity of the Year

January 23, 2013

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Champions Tour announced today the Wendy’s Walk for Kids, a fourth-year fundraising initiative conducted during the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, is the 2012 Champions Tour Charity of the Year.

Champions Tour President Mike Stevens will present the award to event co-founder and local Wendy’s franchisee Anne Williams during a function in Endicott, NY on Wednesday January 30th.

“We are truly honored to receive this significant recognition,” said Williams. “Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Through the Wendy’s Walk for Kids fundraising efforts, we are able to assist programs whose purpose is to help this segment of our population realize their full potential, regardless of their life experiences and current circumstances.”

In four years since its inception, the Wendy’s Walk for Kids has experienced tremendous growth, with just 150 walkers raising over $40,000 in 2009 to more than 700 walkers raising in excess of $190,000 in 2012.

“The recognition received by Wendy’s Walk for Kids as our Charity of the Year is richly deserved in light of their efforts in continually assisting children in the Greater Binghamton area,” said Stevens. “Their involvement within the community, and with the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, typifies one of our core values that together, anything is possible."

As recipient of the 2012 Champions Tour Charity of the Year, the Wendy’s Walk for Kids will receive $30,000, which will benefit children in the Greater Binghamton area through the children's organizations associated with the 2013 Walk and beyond.

While the Wendy’s Walk for Kids is the signature fundraising event of the tournament, Broome County Community Charities Inc., the host organization of the Champions Tour’s DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, made contributions totaling over $987,000 from the 2012 Event to numerous charitable organizations in the region.

"On behalf of DICK’S Sporting Goods and Broome County Community Charities, I would like to thank the Champions Tour for honoring the Wendy’s Walk for Kids as Charity of the Year," said DICK’S Sporting Goods Open Tournament Director John Karedes. "The Champions Tour’s recognition of the 2012 DICK’S Sporting Goods Open through both the President’s Award and Charity of the Year is indicative of the unparalleled commitment to excellence for the entire event week’s experiences.” added Karedes.

Willie Wood, the 2012 DICK’S Sporting Goods Open Champion, will defend his title in 2013, but not before the Wendy’s Walk for Kids takes place during the final round on Sunday, August 18th.