Community Corner

'Walk the Course' at Cog Hill Raises $100K for Domestic Violence Agencies

Five Chicago-area organizations received donations following the event, which was held Sept. 13 during the BMW Championship.

Hundreds of Chicago-area volunteers joined forces with PGA Tour golfers and wives during the earlier this month to raise $100,000 for five local domestic violence agencies.

The inaugural event was held Tuesday, Sept. 13, at , 12294 Archer Ave. The fundraiser was organized by the Avon Foundation for Women and the PGA Tour Wives Association.

Participants walked four miles on Cog Hill's 18-hole Dubsdread golf course to raise money for five Chicago-area organizations: Pillars – Constance Morris House in LaGrange Park, Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC) in Chicago, Family Shelter Service in Downers Grove, The Crisis Center for South Suburbia in Tinley Park, and Sarah’s Inn in Oak Park.

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Elmhurst resident Amy Wilson heads up the PGA Tour Wives Association and has been involved with it for more than eight years. Amy is married to PGA golfer Mark Wilson, who competed in the BMW Championship.

In 2009, the PGA Tour Wives partnered with the Avon Foundation to create the "Walk the Course" fundraiser. Since then, the event has raised more than $300,000 for domestic violence initiatives.

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The inaugural Chicagoland event at Cog Hill was attended by several PGA golfers and Mrs. Illinois 2011 Zara Johnson.

“We know that domestic violence is an unacceptable form of abuse," Amy Wilson said in a news release. "Our society needs to stop considering it a private matter and make it a public one. It is not pretty, and it is not glamorous, but it can and should be addressed.”

Carol Kurzig, president of the Avon Foundation for Women, addressed the participants at Cog Hill, thanking them for supporting her organization's commitment to domestic violence prevention.

“Domestic violence is more prevalent than you think,” Kurzig said. “Some of you might think it doesn’t affect you, but it does. Right here in Illinois, 76 people were killed in domestic violence incidents in just one year. So you’re doing a great thing today because every single dollar you raised is truly making a difference.”


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