Gary Bernard believes in the benefits of the National Golf in Schools Adopt-a-School program
Published by Chris Fry on Thursday, Apr. 28, 2011 11:39AM EDT
Forget for a moment that Gary Bernard is the Executive Director of the Canadian PGA. Instead, consider that he’s actually a lot like you — Gary, a lover of golf in Canada.
It’s Bernard’s love of the game that made it an easy choice for him to participate in the National Golf in Schools Adopt-a-School program.
“I just knew it was the right thing to do,” he says. “It’s a real solid, significant way to grow the game in this country at a grassroots level.”
Launched in May 2009, the National Golf in Schools program is now in more than 1,000 elementary schools across Canada.
Nearly one quarter of all National Golf in Schools programs have been implemented via adoptions, an initiative that holds a special place in Bernard’s heart.
“My wife and I talked about it and said we should adopt a school and I thought, ‘why wouldn’t I adopt a school where I first started teaching at back in 1979’ — so that’s what I did,” he says.
Bernard believes that at the heart of the Adopt-a-School program is emotional attachment and engagement with the game of golf.
After all, that’s why he adopted Nelson Rural School in his hometown of Mirimichi, N.B.
Bernard, a former Nelson Rural School teacher, recently connected with the school’s current administrator who says that the physical education teachers, and more importantly students, love it.
Developed by Physical and Health Education Canada, in partnership with Golf Canada and the Canadian PGA, the National Golf in Schools program has been designed to enable elementary school teachers — regardless of their golf knowledge, skill or background — to deliver essential physical education through the sport of golf.
Once adopted, each school is outfitted with teaching resource materials as well as hard plastic golf equipment that are child-friendly, safe and easy to store.
That’s one of the major benefits of the program’s equipment —it’s made to last — Bernard says.
“We’ve tested the equipment; we know it has a pretty good lifespan,” he says. “So once it’s in place at a school and it becomes embedded, in the curriculum it’s going to be there for a long time.”
Once the program is firmly established in a school, Bernard believes a new generation of kids will be exposed to the game—a generation of kids who may come from backgrounds where they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play golf.
“A lot of these kids will be exposed to our sport during activities sessions or formal physical education programs and many of them will probably come from families where their parents, or a parent don’t play golf,” he says, adding, “they may also come from countries where golf wasn’t really open to the middle class so this is a perfect low cost strategy to hit at the heart of that new immigrant population.”
The cost of contributing to the National Golf in Schools Adopt-a-School program is $475 per school. A tax receipt is issued (if requested) upon payment.
For more information, visit www.nationalgolfinschools.com
Forget for a moment that Gary Bernard is the Executive Director of the Canadian PGA. Instead, consider that he’s actually a lot like you — Gary, a lover of golf in Canada.
It’s Bernard’s love of the game that made it an easy choice for him to participate in the National Golf in Schools Adopt-a-School program.
“I just knew it was the right thing to do,” he says. “It’s a real solid, significant way to grow the game in this country at a grassroots level.”
Launched in May 2009, the National Golf in Schools program is now in more than 1,000 elementary schools across Canada.
Nearly one quarter of all National Golf in Schools programs have been implemented via adoptions, an initiative that holds a special place in Bernard’s heart.
“My wife and I talked about it and said we should adopt a school and I thought, ‘why wouldn’t I adopt a school where I first started teaching at back in 1979’ — so that’s what I did,” he says.
Bernard believes that at the heart of the Adopt-a-School program is emotional attachment and engagement with the game of golf.
After all, that’s why he adopted Nelson Rural School in his hometown of Mirimichi, N.B.
Bernard, a former Nelson Rural School teacher, recently connected with the school’s current administrator who says that the physical education teachers, and more importantly students, love it.
Developed by Physical and Health Education Canada, in partnership with Golf Canada and the Canadian PGA, the National Golf in Schools program has been designed to enable elementary school teachers — regardless of their golf knowledge, skill or background — to deliver essential physical education through the sport of golf.
Once adopted, each school is outfitted with teaching resource materials as well as hard plastic golf equipment that are child-friendly, safe and easy to store.
That’s one of the major benefits of the program’s equipment —it’s made to last — Bernard says.
“We’ve tested the equipment; we know it has a pretty good lifespan,” he says. “So once it’s in place at a school and it becomes embedded, in the curriculum it’s going to be there for a long time.”
Once the program is firmly established in a school, Bernard believes a new generation of kids will be exposed to the game—a generation of kids who may come from backgrounds where they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play golf.
“A lot of these kids will be exposed to our sport during activities sessions or formal physical education programs and many of them will probably come from families where their parents, or a parent don’t play golf,” he says, adding, “they may also come from countries where golf wasn’t really open to the middle class so this is a perfect low cost strategy to hit at the heart of that new immigrant population.”
The cost of contributing to the National Golf in Schools Adopt-a-School program is $475 per school. A tax receipt is issued (if requested) upon payment.
For more information, visit www.nationalgolfinschools.com