3rd Annual Golfing for Inclusion 2010

10/21/2009
3rd Annual Golfing for Inclusion in Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – The National Inclusion Project and Clay Aiken are excited to announce the 3rd Annual Golfing for Inclusion is returning to The Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on February 1, 2010.

The Event kicks off with Brunch and a Golf Clinic conducted by a PGA professional, followed by a round of golf on Mirasol’s exclusive Sunset course. The golf tournament will be a scramble format and include contests and prizes including hole-in-one opportunities. Immediately after golf, an Awards Reception will be held to recognize the winners of golf competitions and team placement. The Event concludes with dinner including a live and silent auction and entertainment with a performance by Clay Aiken.

The National Inclusion Project, formerly the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, serves to bridge the gap that exists between young people with disabilities and the world around them. By providing curriculum, training and financial assistance, the Project supports communities and programs in creating awareness and opportunities for full inclusion where barriers break and doors open. It is their goal to create an environment for children where inclusion is embraced.

The National Inclusion Project was created in 2003 and grew from the relationship between entertainer Clay Aiken, Diane Bubel and Diane’s, then 13-year-old son, Mike who had been diagnosed with autism. Clay met the Bubel family while pursuing a career in special education. The bond between Clay and the Bubel family grew strong as they shared a vision of a world where children like Mike could be fully immersed in society. Both Clay and Diane had witnessed children with disabilities repeatedly turned away from activities opened to other children. They knew with the right support system, doors could be opened to these individuals that had thus far remained closed. An organized effort could encourage and facilitate community inclusion and empowerment of individuals with disabilities.

The Project has programs in more than 38 states making a difference in the lives of children of all abilities. During the past two years, the National Inclusion Project has donated $30,000 to the Peter Blum Family YMCA in Boca Raton, Florida to implement the Project’s “Let’s ALL Play” curriculum expanding and enhancing their inclusive programs. The Project has also partnered with Florida Disabled Outdoors Association in Tallahassee.

Several levels of participation in Golfing for Inclusion are available. A golf foursome is $2,000 and an individual golf spot is $500. Each golf participant receives brunch, gift bag, photograph with team, golf with prize and award opportunities, and an invitation for you and a guest to the Awards Reception and Dinner and Entertainment with a performance by Event Host Clay Aiken. Individual Dinner and Entertainment invitations can be purchased for $250. Sponsorships and underwriting opportunities are also available. To purchase Golf, Dinner and Entertainment invitations and Sponsorships, or for more information phone C & H Events at 561.394.9190 or email info@chevents.com. Registration may also be completed online at www.inclusionproject.org/golf.

Clay Aiken has released five successful albums and launched eight well-received tours. In October 2003, he launched his first solo album Measure of a Man. The record sold 3 million copies and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With 613,000 copies sold in the first week, it was the highest selling first album for a solo artist in ten years, going double-platinum and netting Aiken an American Music Award.

In 2004, Aiken released Merry Christmas with Love (2004), the fastest selling Christmas album in Nielsen Soundscan history. He followed that success with A Thousand Different Ways (2006), All is Well (2006), and On My Way Here (2008). Notably, Aiken earned the distinction of being only the eighth artist to ever have his first four albums debut in the Billboard Top 5. In 2004, Aiken wrote a best-selling memoir. Readers and critics embraced his style and his message in Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life, making the book an instant New York Times best seller. Most recently Aiken has signed with Universal Decca records and is planning on the release of his sixth album in early 2010.

While all of these successes matter to him, what gives Aiken the most joy is his activism on behalf of children. As he has often explained, “My music career has allowed me to do the same thing I was doing before – work with kids. It has just given me a bigger stage, so I can enact change on a grander scale.” Clay has been an ambassador for UNICEF since 2004 in addition to co-founding the National Inclusion Project, which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the same environment as their non-disabled peers.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) has become the Title Sponsor of the 3rd Annual Golfing for Inclusion. Allianz Life, founded in 1896, provides an array of annuities as well as long term care and life insurance products in the U.S. through a nationwide network of independent distribution. The company is part of Allianz SE, a global financial services group that is the 20th largest company in the world based on revenues (Fortune Global 500, August 2009), employing nearly 155,000 people worldwide.

American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. continues their support of Golfing for Inclusion by becoming a Platinum Sponsor. Headquartered in Holbrook, N.Y., American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) is a full-service independent broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC Firm. Palm Beach Gardens Registered Representatives, Rich Gerepka and Victoria Brialmont, are once again fully committed to their support of the National Inclusion Project and helping to make Golfing for Inclusion a huge success in 2010.

For further information on and to participate in Golfing for Inclusion phone C & H Events at 561.394.9190 or visit www.chevents.com. For more information on the National Inclusion Project phone 919.314.5540 or visit www.inclusionproject.org.

inclusionproject.org