Third Annual Tiger Woods 'Block Party' Raises over $1M

On October 6, Tiger Woods hosted his third annual Block Party at the Grove of Anaheim to benefit the Tiger Woods Learning Center (TWLC), a 14-acre youth-education facility located in Anaheim, California. The yearly event raised more than $1M, which goes directly to programs at the TWLC. “I want the kids to become better,” said Woods, “Better overall as a person, have a better opportunity at life, achieving their goals, and ultimately, giving back what they’ve learned.”

On Saturday morning, Woods hosted a private golf event at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa, where Fred Couples and John Cook joined Woods for an exhibition game before heading off to the red carpet festivities surrounding the Block Party at the Grove. Crimson lighting, red roses and red carpets decorated the Grove, where over 700 people showed up to support Woods’ efforts.

The event featured a VIP reception, cocktails, silent and live auctions, a gourmet dinner and a performance by Grammy Award winner John Mayer. Guests included Teri Hatcher of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” Isaiah Washington of NBC’s “Bionic Woman,” tennis pro Lindsay Davenport and Dave Annable of ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters”. Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis prepared the four-course dinner, which included filet mignon, crab and ricotta manicotti, and fried polenta with marinara sauce. De Laurentiis, host of the program ‘Everyday Italian’ is the granddaughter of Italian movie producer Dino De Laurentiis and shared her thoughts on today’s youth. “We better take care of them, or we’re not going to have a great society when we grow old.”

Live auction items included an autographed guitar and meet and greet with John Mayer and Tiger Woods, which sold for $16,000; and a ‘VIP Grammy package’ auctioned off by National Recording Arts and Science President ‘Jimmy Jam Harris’, who also kicked in free recording time at his personal studio, winning bid: $38,000. But the bidding really got exciting when a trip to the 2008 Masters Tournement was auctioned off. 1992 Masters Champion, Fred Couples fueled a bidding frenzy after joining the auctioneer on stage to offer the winning bidder a round of golf at Augusta National Golf Club with himself on the Sunday prior to the 2008 Masters Tournament and transportation to Augusta with Couples on a private jet. Wining bid? $145,000. Thanks to Tiger Woods and all the sponsors for giving us yet another great event to benefit today’s youth. 


The Tiger Woods Learning Center is a youth-education center that represents the vision of Tiger Woods and his goal to provide Orange County youth from diverse backgrounds an interactive enrichment program that will improve individual aptitude in reading, math, science and technology. As a result, youth will develop personal accountability, independence and resilience leading to greater knowledge of career options and an increase in college enrollment. 


The Block Party is held to express gratitude to the Orange County community for supporting the Tiger Woods Learning Center and its students. The Block Party has raised more than $2 million for the Orange County youth attending the Tiger Woods Learning Center. Woods has donated more than $9 million of his own money to the 35,000-square-foot center, located at Crescent Avenue and Gilbert Street. The center cost about $25 million to establish.