A key tenet of the Paul McBeth Foundation mission is sustainability. It is not enough to just introduce disc golf to a new area – it must also be able to thrive long-term. As a small organization we know we are not equipped to do this alone, so building strong partnerships has been a vital element for success to this point.
Excellent project partners on-site and a tremendous amount of support from the disc golf community have allowed us to get our existing projects off to a great start. Now, we are also excited to share a new partnership that will focus on education, community, and growth as these projects continue to flourish.
That partnership is with Uplay.
Founded in 2017 by pro disc golfer and teacher Zoe Andyke, Uplay is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes health,well-being, and community building by delivering disc golf educational programs all over the world.
This is the next phase of making course projects have a lasting impact, PMF Executive Director Dustin Leatherman said.
“As we have installed courses we are seeing some really incredible things happen. People are being introduced to the sport, communities are forming – we recently had a crew from our La Paz course travel to a PDGA event in another location in Mexico, and some of the project partners have already started conversations about a second course in the area,” Leatherman said. “We want to take all of this to the next level by working with Uplay to provide additional educational resources and teachings at our project sites. We see there being incredible potential in this partnership and we want to do everything we can do to fuel that growth!”
Andyke likewise was excited about teaming up with PMF. “Uplay is focused on our strategic plan and long term goals to provide disc golf education and opportunities to people all over the world," she said. "This partnership supports the growth and infrastructure to make those shared goals achievable, and I feel that the world becomes a healthier and happier place as a result!”
PMF and Uplay have some exciting plans in the works already.
For September's project in Camden, New Jersey, where we will partner with the Salvation Army Kroc Center for our second U.S.-based course, Zoe and her team at Uplay will provide guidance to the staff and local educators about the sport before hosting a clinic for the community. The Kroc Center staff will also be equipped with Uplay educational resources to allow them to build programming and continue to teach disc golf long after the course is installed.
In November, the Uplay team will head to Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala, where they will spend over a week teaching the growing community there. Again, the focus will be educating educators and leaving them with the tools they need to teach disc golf to anyone who wants to learn. Uplay will also be on site for the first PDGA event in Guatemala, assisting staff and providing a special clinic for tournament participants.
Stay tuned for more details on how PMF and Uplay will grow together, as well as for additional partnership announcements in the future.
