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ShopRite Donates More Than $1.5M For Local Charities at 2023 ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer Charity Luncheon

Nearly $40M has been donated over the last three decades to area hospitals, food banks, education, and youth programs.

Dozens of community-based organizations, including food banks and hospitals, received grants totaling $1.5 million during a luncheon hosted Friday by retailer-owned supermarket cooperative Wakefern Food Corp., as part of the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer.

The ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer brings the most talented women in professional golf to Seaview’s Bay Course in Galloway to compete this weekend. It’s also a tournament tradition to bring together and recognize community champions who fight hunger, help families, and invest in research for the treatment of life-altering diseases.

“Our annual luncheon is such a special part of the LPGA tradition, and we look forward each year to celebrating the organizations and advocates who help so many people,” said Karen Meleta, Chief Communications Officer for Wakefern, the logistics, distribution and merchandising arm for ShopRite stores. “Our ShopRite and Wakefern teams are so proud of our longstanding partnership with the LPGA tour. The ShopRite tournament has raised $40 million for charitable causes in communities where our stores operate and where we live and serve.”

Charitable and nonprofit organizations that received grants during Friday’s luncheon included, but were not limited to:

  • Cooperman St. Barnabas Medical Center
  • Susan G. Komen
  • Special Olympics New Jersey
  • Deborah Hospital Foundation
  • Long Island Cares Food Bank
  • Ronald McDonald of Southern NJ
  • Community FoodBank of New Jersey
  • Embrace Kids Foundation
  • Trinitas Hospital
  • Food Bank for NYC
  • Maryland Food Bank
  • Kessler Foundation

“ShopRite and Wakefern’s support and charitable contributions are critical in making this event so special and impactful,” said Jeremy Friedman, media director for the ShopRite LPGA Classic. “We could not be prouder to have them as our partner and title sponsor for one of the strongest events on the LPGA Tour.”

The ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer kicked off June 10 and continues through June 11.

The elite 144-player field features several of the world’s top-ranked players, major champions, past champions, and players who are making their LPGA Tour debuts.

The tournament field is headlined by 15 major champions, three former World No. 1 players and seven past champions, including defending champion Brooke Henderson (2022), Mel Reid (2020), Annie Park (2018), In Kyung Kim (2017) two-time winners Anna Nordqvist (2015, 2016) and Stacy Lewis (2012, 2014), and Angela Stanford (2003). New Jersey natives Marina Alex (Wayne, N.J.) and Karen Chung (Budd Lake, N.J.) also have returned to South Jersey to compete in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Atlantic City’s largest sporting event, the ShopRite LPGA Classic is one of the LPGA Tour’s longest-running events. For three decades, golf fans from across the northeast have converged upon Atlantic City and the Jersey Shore to watch the top female golfers in the world compete on the famed waterfront course.

The tournament not only hosts one of the strongest fields in women’s golf, but it also annually creates more than $19 million in economic activity in the region.

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