The Andalucía Valderrama Masters to be held at Real Club Valderrama, taking place from October 19-22 and sponsored by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, is set to contribute to a worthy cause promoted by tournament host Sergio García through his Foundation.
All funds raised during the tournament week will go to an interior design project aiming at humanizing the X-ray unit of the Hospital Universitario La Paz with the objective of improving the emotional well-being of patients and their families.
The unit will be redesigned into a welcoming, bright and relaxing environment through the choice of appropriate materials, colours and images. In addition to caring for individuals, the project is environmentally friendly, as the improved lighting system will result in a 60 percent saving in power consumption.
Sergio Garcia, outlining the benefits of this initiative, said: “As golfers, we value the positive influence of pleasant surroundings. We are lucky enough to spend many hours in contact with nature and we become aware of the need to protect the environment.
“At the Foundation, we like the idea of humanizing hospitals. We would like to make it easier for people who are going through tough times by providing them with pleasant surroundings that transmit positive vibes.”
This will not be the first time that Sergio supports a good cause in his role of tournament host. At last year’s Open de España he raised the sum of €65,480 for the Spanish Cancer Association (AECC) in order to provide accommodation for the families of cancer patients during treatment away from home.
Garcia set up his charitable foundation in 2002 for the purpose of contributing to the social inclusion of economically-deprived children through social assistance benefits and the practice of sport as free-time activity. The Foundation supports, on a regular or an occasional basis, a large variety of NGOs and humanitarian associations.
Through his foundation, Sergio has been one of the key drivers of Spanish adaptive golf. Together with the Deporte y Desafío Foundation, they conducted 23 adaptive golf clinics throughout Spain attended by more than 700 disabled persons.
In 2012 he founded the “Sergio Garcia Junior Academy-PGA Catalunya Resort” with the double aim of nurturing the best young golfing talent for the future and making golf accessible to children with disabilities.
The initiatives organized by Sergio’s Foundation include golf and football charity days mixing celebrities with football and tennis stars; the interactive children’s story ‘Once Upon a Time there was Golf’ in collaboration with PlayTales; and inviting six youngsters from his native Castellón to The Doral-Publix Junior Golf Classic, the world’s top junior golf event, as well as collaborating with The Junior Players Championship-American Junior Golf Association.
Sergio Garcia has always expressed his gratitude for the life he leads, as well as his desire to give back to society. He said: “Golf and life have given me a lot and I owe it to society. I wanted to give back, so with the support of my family I decided to start a foundation in order to help disadvantaged persons or people with problems. I have been very lucky in life and I want to help give others the opportunities that I had.”
