RCI Celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary as Title Sponsor for Christel House Open

For the tenth consecutive year, RCI has served as the title sponsor for the annual RCI Christel House Open International Charity Golf Tournament. The worldwide leader in vacation exchange hosts the tournament in over a dozen locations around the world. The tournament is held to raise awareness and funds for Christel House International, a charity committed to improving the lives of impoverished children worldwide.

“By providing care, education and character development, Christel House has bettered the lives of thousands of disadvantaged children,” said Gordon Gurnik, president of RCI. “I’m grateful to those who have lent a hand over the years to help make the event a success and extremely proud that over the past 10 years, we’ve helped Christel House raise $5.5 million in support of its mission to drive out poverty and improve the lives of future generations.”

The tournament starts Friday, April 8, in Scottsdale, Arizona and will travel throughout North America and Europe during the spring. The Open, now in its 14th year, is attended by thousands of golfers, sponsors, and volunteers from around the world. Christel House International donates one hundred percent of the proceeds from the event to “benefit those that need it”.

Christel DeHaan, founder and CEO of Christel House International, established the charity in 1998. The organization operates learning centers in the U.S., India, Mexico, and South Africa, and funds an outreach program in Venezuela. Christel House International uses their learning centers in order to help more than 4,000 children around the world out of poverty and become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.

“RCI’s culture of giving back is something I much admire, and it is touching the lives of thousands of Christel House children, helping them cross the threshold of poverty to a new path of self-sufficiency and human dignity,” said DeHaan. “RCI has supported the Christel House Open since its inception in 2003 and this year marks their 10th year as the event’s title sponsor. I am enormously grateful for the generosity, commitment and loyalty of this wonderful company. There is only one RCI, and I still so love it.”

DeHaan, who also co-founded RCI in 1974, raised more than $670,000 last year through the RCI Christel House Open. The charity has now raised $7.9 million to support the Christel House initiatives since the tournament first started. Christel House is one of three charities operated by Wishes by Wyndham, Wyndham Worldwide’s philanthropic program.

Find out more about RCI, the Christel House, and how you can be involved in both the charity and the tournament.