On June 22, Strategic Group Team Members attended the World Partnership Golf (WPG) tournament to represent the company as Signature Sponsor of the event and ‘take a swing at global poverty.’ WPG is Canada’s only national golf event dedicated to raising funds and awareness to fight poverty in poor communities in Asia and Africa. This initiative was launched by Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) in 2000. To date, Strategic Group has donated $175,000 to the foundation.
Strategic Group was also a hole sponsor this year. At Heritage Hole 4, golfers were invited to leave a brush stroke on a blank canvas and a professional artist, Alex Kwong, pulled it all together into a painting by the end of the day.
At dinner, WPG attendees could pledge to send the final masterpiece to the AKFC headquarters in Ottawa. This painting would symbolize not only the collaborative efforts that go into making WPG a success, but also what the outcome can be when people come together. Each person left their stroke and made a difference – this transpired into something amazing! The pledges from the painting totaled $11,000 with an anonymous donor matching $10,000. A grand total of $21,000 will be donated to the AKFC in light of Strategic Group’s hole activity.
This personal note from the artist truly captures the day and the kind of impact we can make:
“I can’t express enough gratitude for Strategic Group, the Aga Khan Foundation and everyone who attended Calgary’s World Partnership Golf tournament at Heritage Pointe Golf Course. The collective effort and collaboration with all of the volunteers and golfers in the creation of this painting was a great experience.
All of your marks on the canvas elevated the piece to a greater level. It was a privilege to be a part of something so unifying. This piece raised $21,000 in pledges for the AKFC; all of which go to helping those living in poverty across Asia and Africa. Hearing that news left me speechless and shocked. I always thought it would take me a lot longer before I could contribute that much back to the world. Obviously, this was not on my own. It was a great collaboration between the participants and generous people who made the pledges…”
We would like to sincerely thank everyone at WPG, AKFC, Heritage Pointe, Alex Kwong, our golfers, hardworking volunteers and everyone who attended for an incredible day!