CVS Caremark donates $1.3M from 2013 Charity Classic to area nonprofits
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — During the holiday season, 81 area nonprofit organizations received funds from the CVS Caremark Charity Classic at a recently held presentation at CVS Caremark’s headquarters.
As the largest charitable sporting event in Rhode Island that attracts world-class golfers, the tournament donated $1.3 million in 2013 to organizations across Southern New England, bringing the total support since 1999 to more than $17 million.
CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo and PGA Tour professionals Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon co-hosted the ceremony and check presentation for the tournament, which draws top PGA and LPGA golfers to Rhode Island Country Club. The trio distributed the funds amid a holiday atmosphere, and inspirational stories were shared by a student and Rose Mary Grant, the Head of School for the Highlander Charter School — one of the nonprofit recipients of the funds — located in Providence.
Present to award the funds from the 2013 tournament were (front row from left to right) CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo, PGA Tour Professional/CVS Caremark Charity Classic co-host Billy Andrade, PGA Tour Professional/CVS Caremark Charity Classic co-host Brad Faxon and tournament chairwoman Eileen Howard Boone. (Photo credit: Constance Brown Photography.)
“Giving back to our local communities and supporting organizations that help children and families in need is at the heart of the Charity Classic,” said Eileen Howard Boone, tournament chairwoman. “By combining world-class entertainment with financial support to important nonprofit organizations in our community, the Charity Classic has become a truly special event for the golfers and our non-profit partners.”
Funds provided by the 2013 CVS Caremark Charity Classic will support numerous charitable organizations and touch the lives of people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. From assisting Meeting Street, which provides hands-on therapeutic care to more than 3,000 children and families annually; to supporting Save The Bay, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the historic Narragansett Bay region; to helping Highlander Charter School in offering a quality education to students with a variety of financial backgrounds — the Charity Classic provides significant funding to target critical needs within the community.