It has been 21 years since Ben Curtis made history when he entered the British Open in Sandwich, England ranked 396th and walked out with the Claret Jug trophy.
In 2003 Curtis, an Ohio native, became the first golfer since 1913 to win a major title on his first attempt.
Curtis is now 47 years old and resides in Kent with his wife, Candace, and their two children.
Since his win 21 years ago, Curtis and his family have been feeding Northeast Ohio children through the Ben Curtis Family Foundation.
It started in 2012 when Ben and Candace watched a documentary about a family struggling with food insecurity.
鈥淚t just kind of opened my eyes. Like, this [was] really in our own backyard,鈥� Ben said.
For Candace, it got her attention.
鈥淭hey were choosing between paying bills or putting food on the table,鈥� she said.
One year later, the foundation was born.
It established the Birdie Bag Program that provides school kids with nonperishable food items and toiletries. It initially partnered with just one school, Holden Elementary in Kent, but since its founding has grown to 12 school districts across Portage, Summit and Stark counties.
Last year, over 120 volunteers helped.
鈥淲e have such a great community [with] great volunteers. We couldn鈥檛 do it without them,鈥� Candace said. 鈥淚 hope we keep growing -- just because there鈥檚 so much need out there.鈥�
At the foundation headquarters in Kent, Candace and the team assemble the Birdie Bags in what used to be a small church but is now transformed into a warehouse filled with dozens of recycling bins and cardboard boxes.
Those bags are then distributed to partner schools across Portage, Stark and Summit counties and shipped by moving trucks from different companies that donate their services.
鈥淓veryone needs help at times in their [lives]. And we鈥檙e just happy to be able to provide that,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e just want to be a resource for families that need a little bit of help.鈥�
The foundation volunteers packed over 56,000 Birdie Bags in the last school year, equaling more than 160,000 pounds of food.
鈥淲e haven't really grown geographically, but we've dug a little deeper kind of within the districts we're serving to make sure their needs are being met,鈥� Candace explained.
Despite the exponential growth the foundation has witnessed over the past decade, the organization found another way to help its community.
Meals for the next generation of athletes
This year, the foundation launched a new initiative to provide student-athletes at Kent鈥檚 Theodore Roosevelt High School with meals as they train over the summer.
This pilot program provides nonperishable, ready-to-eat items at the school鈥檚 pantry. From there, athletes can pick up food as needed.
The Curtis Foundation uses excess items from the Akron-Canton Food Bank to help supplement athlete鈥檚 diets.
鈥淲e were able to get a lot of cereal, granola bars, popcorn, [and] larger items,鈥� Candace said. 鈥淲e thought [we could] get them into [student-athletes'] hands during the summer or even if they [could] just eat them while they're at practice.鈥�
The new initiative provides a support system for the school's football team as they prepare for their season, said Head Coach Kardell Jackson.
鈥淚t's great to know we have those resources,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚t means a lot to know that our guys have support beyond just [the] locker room.鈥�
Almost everyone on the team uses the pantry 鈥� which can be up to 60 players per day, Jackson said. He hopes his athletes can use that service to understand the importance of a healthy diet.
鈥淲e talk about practicing hard every day. [But] it鈥檚 really hard to do that when you don鈥檛 have that proper nutrition,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淸The players] don鈥檛 have to leave here knowing [they] won鈥檛 eat again until tomorrow. They always have [this] resource and they know that.鈥�
Life after professional golf
For Ben, life has slowed down since his retirement from professional golf in 2018. He established a golf academy at the Country Club of Hudson and partnered with a winery in California to create his own blend, and it has given him the chance to further connect with his family.
He is the head coach for his son鈥檚 golf team at Kent Roosevelt High and will begin his third season in that role come August.
Although Ben said he couldn鈥檛 be happier settling down and raising his kids in Northeast Ohio, he still gets a kick out of watching the British Open, which begins July 18.
鈥淚 love watching it,鈥� Ben exclaimed. 鈥淔or so many years [of] playing in it, [I] really didn't get to watch it too much, because [I was] playing and focusing on getting ready for the tournament.鈥�
Now Ben said he is doing what he can to create a legacy in his own community.
鈥淚t's not like you have to do a lot make a big difference,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don't have to go crazy and need millions of dollars to make an impact. That's where [it] really hit home for me.鈥�