2023 Porsche European Open: Porsche supports Ukraine aid with ‘Birdies for Charity’

Social responsibility and societal commitment have always been incredibly important to Porsche. Against this background, the title sponsor of the Porsche European Open is extending its extensive social commitments and will inaugurate the ‘Birdies for Charity’ fundraiser during the tournament played on the Green Eagle Golf Courses’ Porsche Nord Course from 1 to 4 June 2023. Along the lines of the long-established Aces for Charity at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix or the Racing for Charity fundraiser marking the 100^th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a donation will be made to charitable organisations for every birdie scored during the tournament in Hamburg. In keeping with the 75^th jubilee of the founding of Porsche sports cars, it will amount to 75 euros for each birdie during the four rounds. The total raised will be split equally between the ‘JOBLINGE Hamburg’ and ‘Hamburger Abendblatt hilft’ initiatives, to benefit Ukraine aid projects.

“Social commitment is an integral part of Porsche’s corporate culture, and the same also goes for our commitment in sport,” says Sebastian Rudolph, Vice President Communications, Sustainability and Politics of Porsche AG. “We will also be contributing significantly at the Porsche European Open. Birdies for Charity will add further momentum to our societal responsibility and help organisations committed to Ukraine aid projects.”

The nationwide JOBLINGE initiative involves the private, public and volunteer sectors and is committed to supporting disadvantaged young people – and to closing the gap between their origins and the future. The objective – real job opportunities and long-term integration within the employment market. JOBLINGE Hamburg wants to initiate mental health courses for Ukrainian refugees with the donation, providing half-daily courses to accompany existing language tuition. Issues like flight and war trauma or dealing with stress in everyday life will be broached by a psychologist. The aim of the multi-day workshop is to enable participants to obtain a perspective on themselves and their current situation, thereby making them capable of acting on their own again.

The ‘Hamburger Abendblatt hilft e. V.’ initiative has been supporting adults, adolescents and children in need from the Hamburg metropolitan region with a variety of projects since 1975. The Birdies for Charity donation will help to fund the Schrödingers City Kids community centre that has been caring for Ukrainian refugees in the Schanzenpark district of the city since April 2022. The open meeting place invites Ukrainian refugees and their families and host families to actively come together from Monday to Friday. About 100 Ukrainian visitors attend the community centre every day with their children. German language courses are offered three times a week and there is also the opportunity for adults to talk, receive advice and network in the café. In the future, homework help will be provided three times a week for children. The donation will go towards to implementing both measures and to securing them financially.

At last year’s Porsche European Open, a total of 1,243 birdies were scored. The hole with the most birdies was the 18^th, where 174 alone were recorded. When it comes to the charity fundraiser, the par 5 will be the thrilling final hole.

Social responsibility at Porsche

Social responsibility is an integral part of Porsche’s corporate culture. People take priority. Porsche is involved in numerous charitable initiatives and concentrates on sustainable projects in five core areas of sport, culture, environment, and social issues as well as education and science. In this way, more than 150 sponsorship projects were supported around the world in 2022. As a result, Porsche is playing its part in helping to shape the future of society – and aims to set benchmarks here too.  

Porsche in golf

Porsche has enjoyed a successful involvement in golf since 2015 as the title sponsor of the Porsche European Open, a DP World Tour event. In 2019, the sports car manufacturer expanded its activities in professional golf with automotive partnerships at tournaments on the US PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Porsche can also look back on a more than three-decade Porsche Golf Cup history. The tournament series is one of the company’s most successful customer events. Held for the first time in Germany in 1988, the Porsche Golf Cup has developed into an international event in which, at its peak, more than 17,000 Porsche customers took part in 261 worldwide qualifying tournaments. The Porsche Golf Circle is also highly successful. An international community for keen golf-playing Porsche customers, it was launched in 2017. Paul Casey has been complementing the Porsche family as the first Brand Ambassador from the sport since 2020.