KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 11, 2019

Marietta Country Club event raises $125,000 for students

The holidays have arrived early for one Kennesaw State University program.

KSU’s Campus Awareness, Resource and Empowerment (CARE) Services program, which supports students experiencing homelessness, food insecurity and the foster care system, has received a $125,000 gift from the Marietta Country Club’s annual golf outing, ThanksGIVING Golf Classic. This is the largest gift in the program’s history.

“These proceeds will be truly impactful for our students,” said Marcy Stidum, director of KSU’s CARE Services. “This gift will serve homeless, foster care and hungry students on both our Marietta and Kennesaw campuses, helping to provide housing, food, personal care items and case management services.”

The tournament, in partnership with Cobb Community Foundation, generated $125,000 directly for CARE Services, as well as an additional $50,000 for the KSU Foundation and the American Opportunity Foundation, for a total impact of $175,000.

“Those we serve, and hope to serve, will forever be grateful to our community friends like the Marietta Country Club who have helped to ensure CARE will always be at Kennesaw State to provide support, stability and opportunity for students to achieve their dreams,” Stidum added.

Since its official launch in 2013, CARE Services has served nearly 2,000 students with one-on-one case management, emergency temporary and long-term housing assistance, food pantries on both the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses, scholarships, and temporary work programs.

The endowment created from Marietta Country Club’s generous gift will assist CARE Services in providing direct support to students and managing the day-to-day operations needed to provide services for students. According to Stidum, the endowment will guarantee the financial stability that will sustain CARE in future years.

Marietta Country Club launched the ThanksGIVING Golf Classic with the express purpose of raising funds and awareness for organizations in the community that provide services to those in need. For the past three years, as well as 2019, the beneficiaries have been organizations benefiting children, youth, and now young adults. Now in its sixth year, the golf outing, which is open to the public, has raised nearly $500,000 for local charities.

For more information on Kennesaw State’s CARE Services, visit care.kennesaw.edu.

—Tiffany Capuano

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.