A wide range of initiatives surrounding the 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open has ensured that official charity Mindroom will benefit to the tune of just over £50,000 from the event won impressively by American Rickie Fowler at Gullane.
Thanks to the generosity and skill of the professional golfers taking part along with assistance from the amateurs and caddies involved in the Pro-Am, plus all the officials and spectators, a grand total of £51,065 will be handed over to Mindroom from the week-long fund raising activities.
Mindroom is an independent Scottish charity that supports the families of children and young people with learning difficulties, and the charity was warmly welcomed to Gullane and given generous support for such a worthy cause.
The inaugural ‘Tartan Wednesday’, in which everyone involved in the traditional Pro-Am preceding the Championship was asked to wear an item of tartan in support of Mindroom, raised £20,000.
A further £16,860 was raised from the traditional Birdie Pledge, with £10 being added to the fund for every birdie and £20 for every eagle made during the four days of competition. Over the 72 holes, there were 1486 birdies over the superb Championship Course at Gullane bringing in £14,860 and 20 eagles worth £400.
New champion Fowler also played a valuable role in the Birdie Pledge, with his personal haul of 15 birdies made during the event contributing £150 to the overall ‘pot’.
Additionally, a hole in one by Chile’s Felipe Aguilar at the 160 yard third in the first round brought a donation of £1600 - £10 for every yard of the hole – from Aberdeen Asset Management and the Tour Players Foundation, the charitable arm of The European Tour.
Helping to lift the final total through the £50,000 barrier was a prize draw organised by Mindroom which brought in £12,000, corporate donations worth over £2000. All told, the variety of initiatives raised that impressive sum of £51,065.
Sophie Dow, Founder of Mindroom, said: “This is a fantastic result for a small charity like ours. At Mindroom, we are passionate about providing direct help and support for the parents, carers and families of children and young people with learning difficulties. We have an experienced direct support team of five and the money that has been raised at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in Gullane will enable us to employ another team member for two years.
“Last year Mindroom provided support to 400 families and this additional member of staff will help us to move ever closer to our aim of tripling that number so that we can provide help and support to 1200 families in times of need. We are a small charity but we have a big vision – of a world in which every child and young person with learning difficulties receives the recognition and support they need. Thanks to this amazing result, more children and young people will now have the chance to get that support so that they achieve their real potential.
“The fundraising will not end there. Mindroom is expecting to substantially increase these numbers in the weeks and months to come by auctioning all kinds of memorabilia so generously provided by The European Tour, Aberdeen Asset Management and the players themselves.”
Lynda Affleck, Head of Charitable Giving at Aberdeen Asset Management said: “We are delighted such a wonderful amount has been raised to support Mindroom. We are also pleased that through their role as official charity at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, we have helped to raise awareness of their great work in Scotland. It has been a pleasure for us to work with them at the Scottish Open to raise this incredible sum.
“Our thanks go to the players, the spectators and The European Tour for their assistance in making this possible.”
Peter Adams, Championship Director of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, added: “It was a real pleasure to help support such a dedicated and committed group of people, all driven to raise funds for, and awareness of, Mindroom. All of us working on the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open are delighted to see the total break through the £50,000 barrier.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to Mindroom can do so by visiting the charity’s Just Giving page on line: https://www.justgiving.com/mindroom/
