Golf Is a Game. Life Isn’t.

It’s more than just teaching kids how to golf.

That’s the key to understanding what a difference First Tee is making.

The nonprofit organization meets its mission — to empower youth through golf — by weaving life skills into the game. That’s what makes it so transformative.

For First Tee participants, learning to golf is about gaining inner strength, self-confidence and resilience on the course and applying those skills to life.

“They teach us how to develop core values and how to use those core values on and off the golf course,” says Bernardo Little Jr., a junior at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School in Georgia, and a First Tee participant.

First Tee helps kids discover their values and character strengths and guides them to strengthen it, and mentors them to put it into action in everything they do.

This happens through intentional experiences that are just as fun as they are meaningful, where kids feel excited to grow, safe to fail, and better equipped for whatever comes their way next.

Southern Company sees the value of these experiences. As First Tee’s Educational Patron and a supporter of First Tee’s National School Program, Southern Company has supported the nonprofit for years, impacting more than 700,000 students annually in 1,400 schools.

“It’s not just the check that they write us; it’s the support they provide us throughout the community and throughout the year,” says Rich Alvarez, director of development and strategic partnerships for First Tee — Atlanta.

It’s a partnership that exemplifies how Southern Company wants to transform communities and improve lives.

“There’s just so many ways that life and golf overlap,” says Chris Womack, chairman and CEO of Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company. “First Tee is a wonderful program to bring those things together.”