Golf Event Swings Big for Charity

It was a great day at the links for the seventh annual Airport Community Partnerships (ACP) CLT Golf Tournament, with lots of big swings to benefit charity.

This year’s fun-filled tournament took place on May 11, 2026, at the Tega Cay Golf Club in Tega Cay, SC and featured an additional 9-hole offering.

The 212 registered golfers helped raise $174,834 for Lift Up Carolinas, an organization dedicated to feeding, clothing, mentoring, and educating children and families throughout the greater Charlotte community.

ACP's charity golf event was created to help Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and its business partners give back to their neighbors on the west side of Charlotte. Since 2019, nearly $800,000 has been raised for nonprofit organizations serving people living near the Airport.

Lift Up Carolinas Impact

Lift Up Carolinas was founded in 1992. The group has 200 dedicated volunteers and only three paid employees. A thrift shop is the primary funding source.

Some of its signature programs include GEAR UP, which provides school uniforms, supplies, and essentials to more than 50 Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) locations; Mecklenburg County Teen Court; and Check Hunger, which operates mobile food pantries to assist families facing food insecurity.

Lift Up Carolinas impact is wide-reaching:

• 135 impact sites in the Charlotte area, including 18 locations near CLT
• Over 33,000 Children & Families Served (2024-25)
• Over 13,000 Children & Adults Fed (2024-25)

“We would like to work ourselves out of a job and not have to provide these resources, but with everything that is happening, we are able to come in and fill a gap,” said Lift Up Carolinas Executive Director Jessica Trosch. “We are so excited to be the beneficiary this year because the support is going to allow us to continue to expand and grow our impact, specifically in the West Charlotte community.”

ACP, Sponsors Give Back

“It’s a tremendous organization, and I don’t know if they have the name recognition of past beneficiaries,” added CLT Community Engagement Coordinator Sterling Patterson. “With their logo on the course, their website, and in media coverage, I think this will help our hundreds of airport community partners understand what they do.”

This year’s presenting sponsors were HMS Host by Avolta (CLT’s official food and beverage concessionaire) and Paradies Lagardère (the Airport’s official retail concessionaire).

A total of 63 companies participated including: Aviation Consulting, Vanderlande Industries, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, RS&H, American Airlines, CLT and others who sponsored various contests, tee boxes and tables.