+++ BMW Group donates 1,000 euros per eagle during the tournament rounds +++ Donation goes to the “JOBLINGE” and “Kick ins Leben” organisations +++ BMW extends long-term commitment to education and future prospects for all +++ Takumi Kanaya (JPN) hits the first eagle of the tournament with an ace on the 12th hole +++
Munich. BMW is strengthening its long-term commitment to education with the “Eagles for Education” campaign at the 34th BMW International Open. The BMW Group will donate 1,000 euros for every eagle achieved by the many top-class pros during the week of the tournament at Golfclub München Eichenried. The money will go to the “JOBLINGE” and “Kick ins Leben” organisations, with which the BMW Group has been cooperating in Munich for many years.
“As the BMW Group, we are aware of our social responsibility and shoulder that responsibility in many different ways. With the ‘Eagles for Education’ campaign, which we are running for the first time at the 2023 BMW International Open, we are supporting two organisations that have been committed to achieving better qualifications for underprivileged children and young persons for many years in Munich. We are delighted that, with every eagle scored during the tournament week, we will not only celebrate the sporting achievement of that player, but also a donation to our partners ‘JOBLINGE’ and ‘Kick ins Leben’,” says Jörn Plinke, Head of BMW Golfsport Marketing.
Japanese pro Takumi Kanaya got the campaign off to a perfect start with the first eagle of the tournament in Thursday’s opening round of the BMW International Open. Kanaya was invited to Munich as the winner of the BMW Japan Golf Championship and hit a hole-in-one on the 12th hole (par 3).
“JOBLINGE” is a joint initiative between the economy, the state and society, working with low-skilled and unemployed young people. The BMW Group’s Eberhard von Kuenheim Foundation was among the parties that launched the initiative back in 2008. During a programme lasting roughly six months, the young people learn on the job, studying key qualifications, improving their social skills and working towards a job or training position. They are supported by JOBLINGE staff and voluntary mentors with life and professional experience – including 104 BMW employees across Germany.
“Every eagle at the BMW International Open means new prospects for young people. Together with the BMW Group and ‘Eagles for Education’, we are continuing to promote equal opportunity and educational equality. That is as valuable for each young person as it is for society as a whole,” says CEO of JOBLINGE.
The “Kick ins Leben” foundation supports young people who start out with disadvantages, accompanying them from preschool and giving them the best possible route into a professional career. The BMW Group and “Kick ins Leben” have been working together wince 2019 to support children and youngsters in the Milbertshofen district, which is also home to BMW. Together with the “Kick ins Leben” foundation, the BMW Group is creating an open forum for extracurricular education, and with it a basis for more equal opportunity when entering the professional world. At the BMW Group plant in Munich, the young people get to witness the production process and benefit from mentoring from BMW employees.
“We are very grateful for what is now such a long, reliable cooperation with the BMW Group in Munich, which has its headquarters in Milbertshofen – in the middle of one of the most disadvantaged districts in the city, which is also a focus of the work done by our foundation – meaning we are able to make a difference together,” says Dr. Günther Lamperstorfer, founder of “Kick ins Leben”.
BMW has been committed to achieving more education in golf for a long time. At the BMW Championship in the USA, 44.5 million US dollars (currently 41.4 million euros) have been raised for the “Evans Scholar Foundation” since the start of the tournament partnership with organiser Western Golf Association in 2007. This money has funded more than 3,300 full college scholarships for caddies.
“Eagles for Education” now joins BMW’s commitment at the BMW International Open in Munich. In golf, an eagle is achieved when a player takes two shots less than par (the standard score) on the respective hole. A total of 73 eagles were scored at last year’s BMW International Open.