first do used golf balls work just as well as new ones? will soapy water clean them?
the second part of the question is --my organization bought many clearance items to sell as gifts so children can purchase items for their families. so a $3 pair of socks bought on clearnace for 75% off gets sold for a dollar. we don't have as many father gifts and received a donation of golf tees. we wanted to put 2 goft balls and 5 tees in a bag and sell them for $1 or even $2 but new cheap balls are a smidge over a dollar each. we could raise the price I guess.... we were also considering seeing if we could get some used balls from the local course, clean them bag them with the tees and sell those for the $1.
I don't golf.. . can anyone help with this. ... would parents be offended if their children bought them used golf balls for a $1??
some other items we have are homemade bath salts for grandparents, some tape measures that were free with a purchase at a local hardware store, some work gloves. but couldn't really find any good deals. and would really like to have something for dads that are into sports and thought golf might be a good idea.
looking for any ideas about the golf gifts,
not looking to debate about the kids having the opportunity to buy gifts.
thank you
Thank you for responses so far. ..there reasonable courses near here and also some very swanky places...so it could go either way.
I would say mostly lower middle class families. .not ones that are homeless or without meals..although I guess you never know.
Yes used golf balls work just as good as new ones. However is this for underprivileged kids? If so have you considered if their dads can afford to golf? Golfing is an expensive sport.
I agree that your target audience needs to be considered. Golf can be expensive, even elite. Now, if you have a public golf course near you that doesn't require a restricted membership, that doesn't have a wait list, that has a reasonable fee for playing 9 holes, then a little gift bag of tees and clean used golf balls might be useful. Check out golf courses in your area, and find out what it costs to join, play, etc.
If your organization serves families who are in need of the most basic items (groceries, diapers, etc), then golf is probably not on their radar.
I think that you could still do something with sports. A dad and kid can throw a baseball around, so a baseball might be a good idea. Or a wiffle ball and plastic bat.
Coming from a family of golfers I would say it's a nice gift but I would include a cute little note that they are used. "Practice balls for the pro" , "Practice balls to up your game and lower your score", "Practice balls for more birdies", etc.
I think it's fine and a good gift. That said, you know that there are companies that do the holiday shops, right? Our schools work with companies that supply suitable gift items - the PTA buys them for $1 and then sells them for $1. Easy peasy and no work for the volunteers other than manning the store on the sale dates. Your gifts sound a lot better than what we get but using a vendor makes things easy. Just a thought for future reference!
we were poor, and lived with our backyard butted to a golf course. we also like to play golf. and the community college has 3 holes you can play for free. we would use those used balls that landed in our yard and enjoy a round of golf on free balls. nothing wrong with them
now we live on a football field size yard so we whack around the same balls in the yard for fun.
Used golf balls are generally fine.
You could clean them with soapy water but don't submerge them in the water for more than a few minutes to clean them. Slosh quickly in the soapy water then rinse in a colander maybe.
If you can't get a local course to donate them, you can buy used golf balls on Amazon for less than $0.50 per ball. They are usually cleaned before reselling, although they might be scuffed.
The golfers in my family would like this gift.
I would think so. I don't believe there is any difference other than appearance.
People generally know this is meant as a fundraiser and don't get hung up on this stuff. They do those types of gift buying donated items fund raisers here.
Used books go over well here. My kids have brought those home before. And then you can donate to library, etc. afterwards.
I think it sounds good. Our kids play golf in the back yard. I suppose some dads wouldn't play golf (my husband doesn't) but I still think that's ok - it's meant to raise money. Do you have other options?
Yes, they're fine as long as there aren't any dents in the structure of the ball itself. Clean them as best as you can though.
Well, I fully support having a Christmas Store in communities where it is needed.
The parents fill out applications with their children's age and gender. Then the community donated items.
When it was time for the parents to come "Shop" for their kids they had a card giving to a worker and that worker took the parents around to the sections that were designated for that child's age. The parents were able to select 1-2 items per child then there were some free items that they could choose a few extras. Usually shampoo, hygiene items, and maybe some bedroom decor.
Then on another day the kids would come "shop" for their parents. They also got a card and a helper walked through with the kids. They got to select items for each parent and if there were any extra items they could choose something else. The kids wrapped their gifts before they left so that the parents couldn't see what they were going to get.
Not one penny of money exchanged hands. It was completely free but they did have to qualify far in advance.
This program was through Community Action I think.
