Dell Technologies Match Play's impact on Austin-based charities

In 2017, the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play generated more than $1.1 million for Austin-area charities. (Photo Credit: Leah Muse Photography)

AUSTIN, Texas -- Since moving to Austin two years ago, the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship has helped raise over $2.1 million for five Austin-based youth charities. Kennedi Jeffries and Edward Bass are the type of kids these contributions go towards improving their quality of life.

Dancing and Cooking at the Boys & Girls Club
As soon as the bell rings at nine-year-old Kennedi Jeffries’ school, she knows where she’s heading – the Overton Elementary School Boys & Girls Club. There she’ll spend the afternoon learning to cook. Or dancing. Or going on afternoon field trips to places like Camp Mabry.

Perhaps most importantly, when the school days winds down, she’ll be active. Since joining the Boys & Girls Club two years ago, Kennedi’s mom has a peace of mind knowing her daughter is in a safe place, where she enjoys herself, feels happy, and remains active.

“The Boys and Girls Club is important because it helps you be active and be stronger and healthy,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries, who describes the Boys & Girls Club as “like a home that you can’t place,” isn’t alone.

She is one of the more 200 Boys & Girls Club kids that have been touched by the money raised from the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship since its arrival to Austin in 2016.

Creating families in Austin
Judge Glenn Bass always knew he wanted to foster and adopt a family. What he didn’t know was how much help he’d need navigating through the entire process.

That’s where Helping Hand Home for Children in Austin, a beneficiary of the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship, came through. The organization, which runs a residential treatment center, on-site charter school, and foster and adoption program, have been serving children who have experienced the darker side of childhood in Austin since 1893.

Helping Hand Home for Children is who helped make Bass’ dream of foster and adopting his family a reality. For his two sons, their program helped reestablish them into a healthy family setting.

“This non-profit has existed since I believe 1893 and I believe what sets them apart is that there is this outpouring of support from within the community and it runs so deep,” Bass said. “You need that kind of support to go into such an endeavor as beginning a family and navigating through this maze that has been created by this system. I can say that the people that I’ve interacted with at Helping Hand have walked through every piece of that with me, and I can’t imagine having built my family without Helping Hand Home.”

Thanks to the foster and adoption program at Helping Hand Home, Bass now has two healthy sons who are thriving with their new family.

“It helped me connect with my family and my brother,” his son said. “It got me into the home that I’m going to be in for the rest of my life.”

Heartwarming stories like the Bass’ are the rule, not the exception at Helping Hand Home. In total, 396 children and family members have been served.

And many more will continued to be thanks to contributions like the ones the last two years from the Dell Technologies Match Play Championship.

“Helping Hand Home could not exist without companies and individuals and associations that do what Dell has done,” Bass said. “It can’t be covered by just one group and Dell is an essential part of that, and I’m so grateful that they are helping the organization that helped build my family.”