Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program
Opportunity Through Golf
National Links Trust is dedicated to positively impacting local communities. Therefore, we are especially proud to have launched the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program in 2021. Through intern and caddie positions at the historic Langston Golf Course, this program provides adolescents and young adults in the local community with valuable job and life skills they need for future academic and employment success.
NEWS FROM THE VARDAMAN PROGAM
National Links Trust has announced Butheyna Dahmani as our first Evans Scholar through the Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program. The Evans Scholarship, a Western Golf Association initiative, is a full housing and tuition college grant offered to deserving caddies. Butheyna was eligible for the Scholarship through her participation in the Vardaman Program, and she will attend one of the Evans Program’s 24 partner universities nationwide this coming fall. Butheyna, a current senior in high school, grew up with a single mom and, thanks to the Vardaman Program and Evans Scholarship, will be the first in her family to attend college.
“During my childhood, money was the biggest issue in the family,” she says. “Money was something my family worked hard to earn to keep the lights on and food on the table. The last priority they had was education, and I am beyond grateful to have been afforded the opportunity and blessing to have the chance to have my college tuition paid for from my experiences as [a Vardaman Program intern and caddie].”
VARDAMAN PROGRAM DETAILS
Vardaman Program participants have internship and caddie opportunities at the historic Langston Golf Course.
The internship program runs in two four-week sessions over the summer months at Langston Golf Course. While participating in this aspect of the program, interns learn skills in golf course operations, food and beverage service, merchandising, and agronomy.
The caddie program, supported by the Western Golf Association, runs from late spring to early fall at Langston Golf Course. Caddies receive training, experience, and the opportunity to foster connections with community members for whom they caddie.
WHAT THE VARDAMAN PROGRAM PROVIDES
Through their experience in the Vardaman Program, interns and caddies are provided:
Paid training and experience with skills relevant inside and outside the golf industry.
Career opportunities at one of National Links Trust’s facilities in Washington, DC.
Pathway to scholarship programs including the Evans Scholars Program from the Western Golf Association.
Entry points to the golf industry, which is worth an estimated $84.1 billion and includes more than 2 million jobs.
In addition to these outcomes, interns and caddies are instilled with values - respect, responsibility, and integrity - and widely- applicable skills - interpersonal communication, collaboration, time management, adaptability, critical thinking, research and analysis, and receptiveness.
BUILDING INCLUSIVE PATHWAYS
The U.S. economy will unfortunately leave millions of young adults behind. In lower income communities, this marginalization is especially profound. Employment opportunities are obviously key to better outcomes for these teens and young adults. A meaningful job for a young person in these communities leads to acquisition of work skills and development of a social and professional network that can translate into long term career success.
HONORING A LEGACY
Jack Vardaman was an extraordinary and generous man known for his philanthropy and support of community-focused initiatives through golf in Washington, DC. We are honored to be part of his enduring legacy.
Jack Vardaman with two WGA/Evans Scholar Caddies that participated in the highly sought after Sankaty Caddie Program.
“So many people in my generation learned the game from their parents…But we were lucky. There are tens of thousands, maybe millions, of kids out there today who don’t have that inheritance. What if we could just make that available, each one of us, to one or two kids? What a legacy that would be.”
-Jack Vardaman, when interviewed about his involvement with First Tee
To learn more of Mr. Vardaman’s legacy, please click this link: Jack Vardaman (1940--2020).
SUPPORTING THE VARDAMAN PROGRAM
Your support allows National Links Trust to undertake valuable community-focused initiatives like the Vardaman Program. Together, we can continue to build inclusive pathways and provide opportunity through golf.
If you would like to send a check in support of the Vardaman Program, please send with a note in the memo section to:
National Links Trust
PO Box 42097
5636 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20015