Club Steps Up in Time of Desperate Need




 As seen in Golf Business November/December 2022 

By Steve Eubanks, Contributor, Golf Business

 

Like a lot of member-owned clubs, the 36-hole TwinEagles Club, in North Naples, Florida. quietly raises funds every year for its hourly employees, especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Through a program called TwinEagles Cares, members are encouraged to, for example, fulfill the Christmas lists of employees’ children.

The program has been in place for years and no one at the club will discuss it, for obvious reasons. Members give because it’s the right thing to do, not for recognition.

But this year the program took on extra meaning. When Hurricane Ian pounded nearby Fort Myers Beach, devastating the region and all but wiping Sanibel Island off the map, members at TwinEagles jumped in to help. What had once been monthly emails on the subject of giving became daily battleplans, each need listed as a target along with a strategy and tactic to make a positive impact.

The 700 homeowners inside the 1,100-acre community established a matching-fund campaign. In the first three weeks, that effort raised more than $400,000 to help those who lost everything. During the same timeframe, staff and members rallied to the disaster site, many volunteering at Samaritan’s Purse and other charities set up in the area.

The most genuine charity is the quiet kind, and the TwinEagles Club isn’t anxious to announce its efforts. But for those on the receiving end of the members’ generosity, the impact of their giving this year cannot be overstated.

This article was featured in the November/December edition of Golf Business magazine.