What does it take for a kid who has never held a golf club to find a game, a team, and a community that believes in them?
It takes more than one good day, one clinic, or one gift. It takes years of steady, patient support, the kind that shows up every season, not just once.
That’s the kind of support First Tee — Southeast Wisconsin has built with our community over the last decade, and it’s why we’re asking you to become a monthly donor today.
A Team, A Course, A Chance
Dayana Medina is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her mother is deaf. When Dayana joined the golf team at Golda Meir School, she had never played before and didn’t own a single club. Today, she and her sister Cassandra are both caddies at a Milwaukee-area country club, active First Tee volunteers, and returning members of the Golda Meir team. Golf opened doors their family never imagined possible.
Stories like theirs don’t happen by accident. They happen because of supporters like you who believe a kid’s character is worth investing in, season after season.
Growing Golf Across Milwaukee Schools
Our partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools now supports golf teams across 12 City Conference schools. We supply nearly every piece of equipment these student-athletes use, at no cost to their families, and we train the coaches who keep these programs running year after year. This spring, we donated a professional-grade golf simulator to Golda Meir High School, giving MPS golf programs a year-round indoor practice space, rain or shine.
A Home Course Open to Everyone
Our partnership with Milwaukee County Parks keeps Noyes Park Golf Course open to any young person in our community, free of charge. Last year alone, 3,673 rounds were played there, the most since 2010. It’s where school teams practice, where Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors and kids play together for the first time, and where campers from Neighborhood House of Milwaukee spend their summer.
A First Job That Can Change a Life
We connect our participants, and anyone else in our community who’s interested, to caddie opportunities through local golf clubs and the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars program. For a young person, that first caddie job can be their first paycheck, their first experience of professional responsibility, and for some, a path to a full college scholarship.
Why Monthly Giving Matters
All of this is possible because of supporters like you. Now we’re asking you to take that support one step further by giving monthly, so we can build programs that last as long as our students need them to.
A one-time gift is generous. A monthly gift is transformative, because it lets us plan a season before it starts, keep a coach in place year after year, and say yes to the next student who walks through our door without wondering if we can afford to.
Your monthly gift means a kid gets equipment before the season starts, not after. It means a coach stays in place for years, not months. It means the next Dayana and Cassandra have the same chance these two did.
A single gift helps for a season. A monthly gift helps for a lifetime. Thank you for believing in what sustainable support can do for Milwaukee’s young people.