Ten years ago, First Tee – West Michigan began as a small nonprofit with one employee. The mission was simple: impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. From humble beginnings ten years ago, First Tee – West Michigan has grown to serve 1,600 kids and teens in 2021 with eight full-time employees, 40 lead coaches, and 27 junior coaches across all four of our communities (Grand Rapids, Holland, Kalamazoo, and Muskegon). While this growth has led to more impact each year, we have struggled to meet the demand for First Tee in each community. To aid us, we need your help. We need to raise the funds to hire someone full-time with professional experience to recruit future lead coaches, as well as manage the current staff’s human resource needs.
To kick off our year-end-giving, the first of our FORE! New Ways why you should give to First Tee – West Michigan is hiring an HR & Recruiting Specialist.
This position will help us in the following areas:
Recruitment
In 2021, First Tee – West Michigan served more than 1,600 participants!
For each class, we need 1 coach/mentor for every 4 participants
When you combine the demand and need across all four communities First Tee – West Michigan serves, we have 65 paid coaches and more than 200 volunteer mentors. And in 2021, that wasn’t enough! We want to ensure every child, regardless of income or geography, has the opportunity to learn through First Tee’s programs. When First Tee is unable to offer a session or is understaffed at a class, the experience is not as impactful. We can’t recruit the coaches and mentors we need as is, and a Recruitment Specialist would increase the number of coaches in each community.
By attending different recruiting events, browsing job boards, and other tools, this role will help us fill those gaps where we need coaches and mentors!
The impact of adding this position will greatly improve our participants’ experience! Well-trained and equipped coaches make the most impact on our participants and see higher ratings from parent surveys. As we continue to grow, it is becoming harder to adequately recruit enough new coaches. The Recruiting Specialist role will equip us to continue to make a deeper and more meaningful impact in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, and Holland.
Managing Current Staff and Coaches
With the considerable number of First Tee employees that need human resource support (eight full-time, 40 lead coaches, 27 teenage coaches), we need a knowledgeable and supportive staff person dedicated to ensuring the success of each staffer, so they can positively impact kids to the highest possible degree. Tasks like onboarding/training, handling legal paperwork, child/coach training, and implementing employee benefit programs are all needed, so our focus can remain on our kids and teens. Having someone with grace and enthusiasm to walk our new teenage junior coaches through their first interview processes and work permit requirements is also critical to their leadership development and work-life readiness. In 2021 alone, we hired 12 new own teenage participants (junior coaches), joining 15 who had coached previous years.
The Need
We want to impact even more kids and teens in 2022 and beyond, but we need your help. A recruitment specialist will put our organization in position to make an even greater impact in 2022 and beyond. Can you help? By donating to First Tee – West Michigan this year-end and helping us raise $70,000 before year-end, you will ensure we have the resources to hire the right person for this role, meaning more young people from age 7-17 will be positively impacted by First Tee – West Michigan.
Will you help us continue our mission by donating to us this year-end?