Diversity and Inclusion at The First Tee of the Sandhills

This week I came across a new commercial from Pedigree featuring a ‘lost’ dog, a golden retriever, that was ‘found’ by a lady attending a campaign rally, wearing the opposing candidates logo. During the commercial you see people with opposing election views come together, initially hesitant to do so, for the love of pets, to find the owner of the ‘lost’ dog. Once the video captures the rally goers ‘change of heart’ for the girl with a differing t-shirt and her need for help, the ‘owner’ comes running up to retrieve her dog. While Pedigree staged the experience, and told those captured on camera afterwards, the attendees were able to put aside their differences for their love of dogs. The video was heartwarming and got me to thinking about diversity and inclusion at The First Tee. Diversity is at the core of The First Tee’s identity and an essential component to success. Diversity is not seen as a project or special event, but an expression of our organization and an intentional process to ensure that our mission is fulfilled. In the Pedigree video, diversity was a variety of similar and different characteristics among the people. Obvious differences included their political view points, gender and race. But, similar in their love for pets and sadness that this golden retriever was lost from its owner. It’s important at The First Tee to embrace diversity, to encourage growth in low percentage areas, be it with teens, females, varying ethnicities, or children with disabilities. The real impact comes when we create a culture of inclusion that is accepting of differences and open to new ideas that can boost creativity and innovation, while responding to the needs of the community. One thing that I truly love about The First Tee module is our drop off policy. When children are dropped off to attend programming in the care of a mentor, their opportunity for positive interaction with fellow participants grows. While they may have obvious differences from one another upon arrival, their love for the program bonds them to open conversation, learn how to work together as a team, and develop a friendship. Like the Pedigree commercial showed us, we do all have our differences. Even within our group of volunteers, board members and supporters – we are a diverse group of people that have found common ground – our love for the mission of The First Tee and the positive impact it will have in our communities. If you haven’t done so already, and plan to vote on Tuesday, remember no matter what box, your fellow voters waiting in line, check on their ballot, at its fundamental root you both care about others, care about children, and care about making our communities better – it’s your common ground. Sometimes we are quick to forget that young people from all backgrounds represent 100% of our future. Therefore, making diversity and inclusion a priority will drive long term positive outcomes. It all starts with us. It’s a mission we can all be a part of.