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“It was a tough choice,” he said. “There are a lot of great charities out there that help the military.”
Operation Homefront appealed to Pavin because of its diversity of services. The group provides emergency support and morale to servicemembers, the families they leave behind during deployments, and wounded warriors when they return.
It is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad. The PGA Tour is a corporate supporter of the Defense Department program.
Pavin, a 15-time PGA Tour winner, decided to get involved with a troop-support group after a trip to Iraq at Thanksgiving 2006. He said it was the first time he’d actually seen what the military does and that he enjoyed talking to the troops.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “It just makes you think (of) everything they give up.
“We may give up a nice meal somewhere,” he added. “These troops may give up a life. It’s nice to be able to help them out.”
Operation Homefront is thrilled with Pavin’s decision to support its efforts, Amy Palmer, the group’s executive vice president, said. Founded after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the group leads more than 2,500 volunteers in 26 chapters across the country. Those chapters have provided critical assistance to more than 40,000 military families.
“Operation Homefront is honored that Corey Pavin would not only personally help us support the troops, but also spread the word to his fans worldwide,” Palmer said. “Servicemembers watching Mr. Pavin this season from tents in Iraq or mess halls on board ships now have extra reason to cheer him on.”
Pavin joins other PGA golfers in his support of the troops through America Supports You team members.
“Corey’s commitment to Operation Homefront is consistent with the PGA Tour’s philosophy of ‘giving back,’” Henry Hughes, PGA Tour executive vice president and chief of operations, said in a joint news release. “We’re proud of Corey for joining other players like Phil Mickelson, Frank Lickliter II and Rory Sabbatini in pledging support to an America Supports You organization in order to assist our military men and women.”
Lickliter sponsors the Wounded Warrior Project; Sabbatini supports the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund; and Mickelson offers his support to Homes For Our Troops and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.