Johnson's 'Birdies' to help clinic

CEDAR RAPIDS - PGA Tour golfer Zach Johnson announced Monday his Birdies That Care charity was going back to where it started, the city's Community Health Free Clinic.

“They get it,” Johnson said. “They're helping kids and families with basic needs that a lot of us take for granted.”

Johnson and his wife, Kim, launched Birdies That Care in 2005. The Johnsons and the AEGON Transamerica Foundation pledge $50 for every birdie (and $100 for every eagle) that Zach makes in PGA Tour events, with pledges also taken from the public.

More than $700,000 has been distributed to five Cedar Rapids non-profit agencies: Madge Phillips Waypoint Center for Women (2006), Tanager Place (2007), Boys & Girls Club (2008-2009) and Children of Promise (2010-2011). The Community Health Free Clinic was the recipient in 2005, and now begins a two-year period as the beneficiary.

The clinic offers free medical services for uninsured and underserved patients, free prescription drugs, and a network of community resources. In the past year, it saw 1,299 patients under age 18 who were without health care coverage.

“It's the right thing to do,” Johnson said about his involvement with the clinic. “The best part is I don't think I'm the only one who has that outlook. It's what Cedar Rapids seems to be founded on.

“We're ecstatic about it, and I've gathered the clinic is ecstatic about it, too.”

Darlene Schmidt, the CEO of the clinic, said Johnson “is a real person with real concerns and real empathy for people in need.”

Another program supported by the Zach Johnson Foundation is Kids On Course, launched last year at pilot schools Harrison Elementary and Van Buren Elementary. The program focuses on supporting students' academic and personal success and connecting families to their kids' educations.

The primary fundraiser for Kids on Course is the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic. The second edition of that golf event will be July 30 at Elmcrest Country Club.

Two more PGA Tour players, Bo Van Pelt and Scott Stallings, were announced Monday as participants. Van Pelt is the 25th-ranked player in the world. He finished second to Tiger Woods in last week's AT&T National. Stallings won the Tour's 2011 Greenbrier Classic.

They join Johnson and fellow Tour members Stewart Cink, Ben Crane, Kyle Stanley and Johnson Wagner.

Tickets ($20 for adults, $10 for kids 12 and under) are available at Cedar Rapids Hy-Vee Food and Drug Stores, Guaranty Bank locations, and Ellis, Twin Pines and Hunters Ridge golf courses. They also are available at www.zachjohnsongolf.com.

Others who will appear at the event include former Iowa Hawkeyes football players Jared DeVries and Tim Dwight, former Hawkeye basketball players Bob Hansen and Matt Gatens, Northern Iowa basketball coach Ben Jacobson, Drake basketball coach Mark Phelps, former Iowa and Drake basketball coach Tom Davis and former major-league player and manager Bruce Kimm.

Also appearing will be actor Alfonso Ribeiro, best known for his role in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and Chris Fehn, percussionist in the band Slipknot.