Pro golfer Justin Leonard and his wife, Amanda Leonard, have been supporters of Blessings in a Backpack for years. Their daughters worked on hunger insecurity in the Aspen area in high school, and when the family relocated to Jupiter, Florida, they knew they wanted their sons to become involved. Now a sophomore, Sky Leonard started a Blessings club at his school. He and his friends used their Give Gab page and created peer-to-peer campaigns to raise money through family and friends. The boys also have an annual popcorn sale. The Benjamin School Blessings club packs food for 160 kids at Jupiter Elementary’s Boys and Girls Club each week.   

Justin often participates in day-long charity events for other pro golfers. Fitting time into a busy schedule is difficult, so he came up with the idea of offering a Short-Game clinic, limited to a small number of students, with pro golfers giving instructions.  

This summer, Rory McIlroy, fresh off a Master’s win, Shane Lowry, Keegan Bradley, and longtime Blessing’s supporter Brad Faxon each spent a half hour with 20 boys at Jack and Barbara Nicklaus’ prestigious Bear’s Club. Justin emceed the event, and the students learned how they approach different bunker shots from the pros. Participants paid $2500 each for this once-in-a-lifetime experience with the pros, raising over $50,000 for the Blessings program.   

Amanda said her son and the other boys in the Blessings club also learned a lot.

“They explained how much money they were trying to raise, how they got started—they got to see what it is like to raise money, do a public presentation, and practice public speaking skills.”    

While most programs don’t have access to professional golfers, Amanda Leonard thinks the idea could be replicated in other programs, using local golf experts from area courses, or coaches, and getting local sponsors to promote the event.