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JELD-WEN Announces Ben’s Birdies for Children
Pro Golfer Ben Crane and JELD-WEN Partner to Support Friends of the Children - Portland
Klamath Falls, Ore. February 20, 2006 — There’s much more at stake than rankings and earnings for Oregon’s home-grown golf pro Ben Crane on this year’s PGA TOUR. Each time Crane makes a birdie or eagle, he and his sponsor JELD-WEN will donate to Friends of the Children - Portland, founding site of a national nonprofit organization that matches our community’s most vulnerable youth with long term professional, full-time mentors.
As part of this season-long program called Ben’s Birdies for Children, Ben and Heather Crane will make a donation for each birdie and eagle that he achieves on this year’s tour. JELD-WEN will match the Crane family’s donations, and individuals are encouraged to pledge additional support based on his tournament play. Looking back at Crane’s records in previous seasons, the final donation could add up to $30,000 or more.
Crane is planning to play in this week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in La Jolla, Calif. However, Crane’s birdie and eagle tally for the nonprofit group began with his first appearance on the PGA TOUR in January and ends when the tour concludes this fall. Crane has made 35 birdies thus far.
“My wife Heather and I wanted to find a way to support an Oregon-based organization that truly makes a difference in our community and in our nation,” Crane said. “Partnering with Friends of the Children is a
perfect match for us and JELD-WEN.”
JELD-WEN, the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors based in Klamath Falls, Ore., has sponsored Crane since 2003. That same year the University of Oregon graduate clinched a dramatic victory and his first PGA TOUR title at the BellSouth Classic. In 2005, Crane won the US Bank Championship and made 280 birdies and 11 eagles, ranking 17th overall for eagles. He also had six top-10 finishes in 2005.
In addition to supporting players like Crane and Peter Jacobsen, JELD-WEN sponsors the annual JELD-WEN Tradition tournament, which takes place in Oregon in late summer. During its three-year history, the tournament has raised $926,500 for statewide charitable organizations.
“Through the JELD-WEN Tradition Foundation, we are committed to supporting innovative educational groups like Friends of the Children, and now we can extend that commitment even further by matching Ben’s donations,” said Gina Monterossi, sports marketing manager for JELD-WEN. “The group’s emphasis on self-reliance and self-esteem for young people parallels the intense competition that Ben brings to his sport and JELD-WEN’s message of ‘Reliability for Real Life.’ ”
Oregonians are encouraged to follow Crane’s performance through the close of the PGA TOUR this fall and pledge individual donations, of perhaps a dollar or more for each of Crane’s birdies and eagles. Individual donors can pledge online at www.friendsofthechildren.com/portland or call
503-281-6633, ext. 108.
“We are honored to partner with Ben Crane and JELD-WEN,” said Pat Van Orman-Price, Development Director for Friends of the Children. “This is just the type of vital support from individuals and businesses that sustains our work and changes children’s lives.”
About Friends of the Children-Portland
Friends of the Children is a revolutionary mentoring program committed to helping the community’s most vulnerable children develop the relationships, goals and skills necessary to break the cycles of poverty, abuse and violence in order to become contributing members of society.
The group helps children who have a high degree of vulnerability to school failure, gang and drug involvement, teenage pregnancy and criminal behavior by providing them each with a paid, professional mentor, called a Friend. Friends spend a minimum of four hours every week with each child, from kindergarten through high school graduation teaching them valuable life skills, instilling positive attitudes and helping them grow into responsible adults.
For more information, visit www.friendsofthechildren.com/portland or call 503-281-6633.
About JELD-WEN
JELD-WEN, inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors. Based in Klamath Falls, Ore., JELD-WEN began as a small Oregon millwork plant in 1960 and has grown into a company with nearly 150 divisions and more than 20,000 employees worldwide.
JELD-WEN is the official window, door and millwork provider of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour. JELD-WEN was the only window or door manufacturer to be named 2003 Energy Star “Partner of the Year” by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Eight JELD-WEN product lines have earned the Good Housekeeping Seal. JELD-WEN windows and doors have been honored by numerous consumer and industry publications. In 2005, JELD-WEN® IWP® Aurora™ Custom Fiberglass exterior doors received a Consumers Digest Best Buy rating.
For more information about the exceptional value and reliability of
JELD-WEN products, or to find a dealer near you, please visit
www.jeld-wen.com or call 800-877-9482.
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