Ukrainian golfers unite around charity project to help army
The BGV Charity Fund and the Lisnyky Golf & Villas Golf Club are implementing a charity project in Ukraine to support the Armed Forces.
What is the problem?
Fighting the enemy requires resources every day. Equipment, drones, and protective equipment are spent quickly and irrevocably. It's not uncommon for a brigade to make multiple requests for buying equipment and ammunition, as what was brought to the front yesterday may not be sufficient today.
What is the solution?
The partners have created a one-of-a-kind assortment of golf balls featuring themed designs. They will donate UAH 40 from the sale of each ball towards supporting Ukraine's defenders. The organizers intend to use the proceeds to procure quadcopters for the Ministry of Defense's control battery and artillery reconnaissance unit.
How does it work?
The project idea was born this spring by a team of volunteers. Since the head of the Lisnyky Golf & Villas golf club, Oleksandr Deniskin, and other sports colleagues are also volunteers of the BGV Charity Fund, they have already been involved in various fund projects supporting the Ukrainian military.
"We were inspired by how the sports community supports the Ukrainian army — from boxers to football players: all those projects, meetings, results. We thought, why not implement a charity initiative among the golf community?" says Oleksandr. "We wanted to involve our narrow-profile audience. It only seems that very few people play golf in Ukraine, but in fact, thousands — both accredited golfers and amateurs — love this sport."
Oleksandr says this is how the idea arose, which quickly turned into a partnership between the BGV Fund and the golf club Lisnyky Golf & Villas, as well as more than 5,000 branded balls.
"These golf balls are not just for show; they are high quality. What sets them apart is that the design is not just painted on the surface but protected by a durable acrylic coating. This means that the design won't fade or get damaged even with regular use. I can vouch for this myself after testing them out during a game. So rest assured that the intricate designs we put on these balls will remain intact even after being hit around the course," says Oleksandr Deniskin.
The first batch, produced with partners, consists of over 5,000 balls: 1,700 sets of 3 products each.
According to the benefactors, the golf community actively supported the initiative: the products sold out quickly. The benefactors plan to expand the initiative to include the international golf community in supporting Ukraine. They plan to start in America, where they have found partners, and there is demand.
"Some people bought ten balls at once. When we asked why they needed so many, we were told they were souvenirs for foreign golfer friends with an appeal to support Ukraine," says Oleksandr Deniskin. "This is where we had the idea to scale up the project. We will soon move on to producing another sizable shipment of golf balls to be sold for charity overseas. It's worth considering that, as the International Golf Federation (IGF) reported, around 450 million individuals worldwide take up golf annually. This is a significant number that should not be overlooked."
