November 2014

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Volunteering at the PGA golf tournament to

raise funds for the Integral Care Center

Objective
To assist our partners at the Integral Care Center to raise essential funds through volunteering at the OHL Classic
PGA golf tournament.
Summary
Every year Mexicos only PGA golf tournament, the OHL Classic, is held at the Mayakoba resort between Playa del
Carmen and Cancun. In order to give back to the local community the tournament donates funds to local charities in
exchange for providing volunteer marshals at the event. GVI was very proud to support for the second time its partner organisation the Integral Care Center by providing volunteers to assist at this years event. As such, the Integral
Care Center received essential funding that enables them to continue their important work of improving the lives of
children with disabilities.
Report
The OHL Classic at Mayakoba is a four day
event that dates back to 2007 when it became
the first PGA golf tournament to be held outside of the USA and Canada. It is Mexicos only
PGA event and continues to grow each year in
size and prestige.1
One of the great initiatives of the OHL Classic at
Mayakoba is that it donates a significant about
of money each year and raises awareness of
selected charities. In exchange, these charities
provide volunteers to act as marshals and support during the event. To date the OHL Classic
has contributed $1.5 million to support the
local communities of Playa del Carmen and
Cancun.2 One such charity that has benefited
financially from an association with the OHL
classic at Mayakoba is the GVI community playa
partner organisation the Equine therapy and
Integral Care Centre.

1
2

Figure 1: The team at marshal training getting ready for the big event.

https://www.ohlclassic.com/tournament- info/tournament-history/ viewed on December 1st 2014

https://www.ohlclassic.com/tournament- info/charity/ viewed on December 1st 2014

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The Equine therapy and Integral Care Centre was formed on March 18th
2008. It was created by a group of concerned parents who support children
with disabilities. They wanted to ensure that their childrens physical and
mental needs were being met through rehabilitation and therapy, thus improving the quality of life for their children.3 The center currently runs a special needs school five days a week that is attended by seven children with a
range of disabilities from Down syndrome to cerebral palsy. The school provides physical and sensory therapies as well as important cognitive learning
and speech therapies. Equine therapy sessions are also run twice a week
where the children perform a number of exercises while riding horses. Equine therapy helps the children improve balance, coordination, muscle tone,
self-esteem, concentration and attention.4
The Equine Therapy and Integral Care Centre is funded entirely by donations
and fundraising. One of its primary sources of funding each year is the OHL
Classic at Mayakoba. As one of GVI primary objectives is to support its partner institutions to raise funds, this year GVI volunteers and staff participated, along with a number of other supporters of the Integral Care Centre, in
the 4 day long PGA golf tournament. Our volunteers acted as marshals controlling the crowds and supporting and directing the players. Through the
combined efforts of GVI and other supporters, the Integral Care center manFigure 2: A GVI vo lunteer controlling
aged to raise $3000. This important financial contribution will enable the centhe crowd during competit ion
ter to pay for 10 months of rent for the special needs school or a month of
board and food for the horses used in equine therapy.5

For the second year on a row, our

staff and volunteers thoroughly enjoyed themselves while participating
at the OHL classic at Mayakoba and
we are very pleased to have helped
our partner organisation raise some
much needed funding, enabling them
to continue their valuable work improving the lives of children with disabilities.

For more information on the projects

here in Mexico, visit:
http://www.gvi.co.uk

3&5

Figure 3: The Integral Care Team including GVI volunteers at the end of a long
but rewarding 4 days.

http://ceai.org.mx/ viewed on December 1st 2014

4
http://www.asocequinoterapia.org/english/Beneficios.htm viewed on December 1st 2014
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