- We kick off today with Matt Rawitzer, who is the executive director of a great organization.

It is called First Tee, and it's First Tee in Metropolitan New York.

Matt, how you doing today?

- I'm doing well Steve.

Thanks for having me and I appreciate you taking some time to talk about First Tee.

- Well, lemme put this in perspective for you.

I'm not sure how many years ago, but in Essex County at Weequahic Park, the Weequahic golf course, one of the three public courses in Essex County where I'm from, excuse me.

We were there for the kickoff of First Tee and I saw all these young kids from Newark, from Brick City getting involved in golf for the first time, put First Tee in context as we put up the website, because you're doing important things, particularly for kids otherwise would not have, would not have access to golf and everything it represents.

- Well, I appreciate that Steve, and that's awesome to hear that you are part of that opening at Weequahic Park, which was really our first foray into Essex County and has allowed us to do some amazing things with First Tee now going on over 15 years, we've had programs in Essex County specifically, but just for everyone that might not be familiar with what First Tee is, we're a youth development organization.

Our mission is to teach life skills through the game of golf.

That's an important part I always emphasize is that it's golf is the vehicle we use to essentially teach life skills such as respect, honesty, integrity, and our goal is to serve students who typically are in underserved, underrepresented areas who wouldn't normally have access to the game of golf.

So while golf is something that a lot of folks think is a high barrier to entry, it costs a lot of money.

They might not be welcome in certain places.

While sometimes those can be true, one of the things that we are so proud of at First Tee, it's kind of combating some of those, you know, notions of what golf is and ultimately we try to make all of the things that's great about golf, an opportunity for everyone.

So we do that through job opportunities, education, and all of that is centered around partnerships such as the ones we have in Essex County to make these available to those who have access to public spaces.

- So Matt, as as we put up the website, the question is how does a kid, how does, how would a parent of a kid get access to get involved with First Tee?

Because one of the things that we've learned in the media and communication information businesses, people will hear about something but not know how to access it.

Talk about that.

- That's also a great point, Steve and something we try to make sure it's very available to everyone.

So I know you guys are putting the website on the screen, that's the number one way.

Visit our website, take a look.

We have actually six campus locations across the Metropolitan New York area.

Two in Essex County and on our website- - Is it one second is it Weequahic and Hendricks Golf Course?

- Correct.

We have a program site at Weequahic Park Golf Course and Hendricks Field Golf Course in Essex County.

And again, take a look at the website and that has all our schedules, all the information to sign up for a class.

We serve students ages six to 18.

So no matter how old you are, there's gonna be an opportunity for you.

- Real quick.

Where does the money come from, because you're a not-for-profit organization?

We are a not-for-profit production company and we spend at least, and I say this all the time, at least half of our time raising money to be able to do what we do.

Your dollars come from?

- Also a great question for us, we are very, we take a lot of pride in the fact that really all of our money is fundraised privately.

We do that primarily through golf outings as I think a natural way for people to get involved and support our organization.

But we also have great partners through corporate partners such as Samsung, Morgan Stanley, MasterCard, and beyond that we also work with different foundations and grants.

Verizon, Blue Cross Blue Shield is a very important one for us in Essex County in particular.

So it's really going through and frankly kind of doing what we teach through the game of golf.

It's using the relationships and networks to find folks that really see where golf can take people, but ultimately how that makes them a better person.

So we go to individuals, corporations, like I said, and really anywhere that golf kind of exposes itself.

- And folks can go on the website not just to find out, but also if they'd like to contribute to the work of First Tee.

The coaches, I know that the coaches play an important role, but not just in how to follow through, how to putt, how to line things up.

That's the, those are the, the X's and O's, if you will of golf.

But the coaches at First Tee are more than that, Matt.

- Correct.

The coaches, and one of the points that I take great pride in with our Metropolitan New York chapter is that we have 15 full-time coaches on our coaching staff.

We take that approach to invest in our coaches because they're the ones who are really interacting with the students who are teaching those life lessons.

And again, while golf is the vehicle, ultimately we have folks that are former educators that worked at schools, they're former phys ed teachers, for example, our site director at Hendricks Field, Tom Grant, former phys ed teacher at Nutley High School.

And we take that approach because that's how we build relationships, develop frankly, what are the best opportunities for our students because we get to know them.

One of the things I really like to talk about is that across our chapter, the 3,500 students that we serve, we know the names of each one of those students as well as their families.

So having coaches that really take the lead on that and develop relationships is critical for us.

- Matt, do us a favor.

Our producers were telling me there's one particular young woman, was it a young woman who got involved in First Tee and it changed everything for her from Haiti, young woman from Haiti?

- Correct.

We had one young woman who joined us going back to about 2017, first generation immigrant family from Haiti.

Really just coming to New York and the United States for a better life.

She was entering high school and found First Tee through her school.

And we have a lot of outreach programs where our coaches will go really know those schools and make sure we have a great introduction to those students as well.

Going to the education component of our program, this young woman entered our Path to College program, which provides- - It's called a, it's called Path to College program, right?

- Correct.

It's a component of our First Tee program that provides sort of how to leverage those core values that we teach.

Honesty, integrity, perseverance, you know, we teach that on the golf course.

Now how do you apply that to your math homework?

So we provide one-on-one tutoring, peer-to-peer tutoring as well as SAT high school and college application help.

And this particular student really entered that right away knowing that she would need some help coming from a new country.

One of the things we do is college tours.

So we took this young woman on a tour to Yale.

She had never heard of Yale, gets on campus, looks around, this place is pretty nice, rightly so.

So four years later, skip ahead, through our Path to College program.

She ended up getting into Yale.

Going to Yale and she has now graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering all because she just showed up at a golf course.

- So folks, first of all, Matt, thank you so much for sharing that story.

All the best to the young woman you just described and shared with us and everyone else who's involved in First Tee.

I love golf and I learned to play at Hendricks Golf Course.

They public a golf golf course in on the border of Belleville and Newark, if you will, my hometown of Newark.

And so for so many kids getting into golf and what golf represents, not just how to play the game the right way, but meeting people in this Path to College program, it's all good stuff.

And Matt, to you and your colleagues at First Tee, wish you all the best.

Well done.

- Well, we appreciate it and again, I encourage anyone to get involved, visit our website, learn more, and very much appreciate you having us, Steve.

This is exciting.

- That's Matt from First Tee.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

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