Ben B. Cheney Foundation gives American Lake a $60,000 grant

The Ben B. Cheney Foundation, based in Tacoma, has awarded a $60,000 grant to the Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course. The gift will assist with completing the Rehabilitation and Learning Center, which opened earlier this year.

ALVGC is in the midst of a multi-million campaign to expand and enhance the facility, which encompasses the only golf course in the country designed specifically for wounded and disabled veterans. Last year, Jack Nicklaus and Nicklaus Design donated design services to create nine new holes and to enhance the accessibility of the existing nine-hole track. With that contribution, the “Friends” embarked on a campaign to raise $3 million for construction-related costs.

The club now has the land and they’ve raised about one-fourth of the goal. They hope to break ground when contributions reach the $2 million mark.

ALVGC is situated on 377 acres in Lakewood, Washington, near Tacoma and Seattle, and nearby Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and VA Puget Sound Health Care System, American Lake Division. In 2004, volunteers established the Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, to assist with improvements, repairs, care and maintenance of the course.