NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WJBF) – A youth home dedicated to helping young men in crisis tees up for their annual golf fundraiser.

Paul Anderson Youth home celebrates 30 years of their golf classic fundraiser. The money raised will help young men struggling with behavior and mental health.

“I just kinda picked up where my Dad’s…the sweat of his brow just kinda, you know, stopped,” said Paula Anderson Schaefer, board member of the Paul Anderson Youth Home.

Weightlifter and Olympic gold medalist, Paul Anderson, saw a need to help troubled young men in his community. In 1961, he started a youth home in Vidalia, Georgia.

The home focuses on giving young men the skills and education to be successful in life. 

“Growing up, the home was such a blessing,” said Anderson Schaefer. “Because you were able to see the boys come in and they’re angry… When they’re at the home, they learn to love themselves, they learn about Jesus, they learn about the Lord…a lot of times they’re very behind in high school and, so, they get caught up.”

Paul Anderson’s daughter, Paula, tells us the golf classic has raised more than seven million dollars to benefit the youth. 

“We have Thanksgiving and Christmas together,” said Anderson Scaefer. “We have all our meals together. They become our family. And we love them”

“A lot of young men have come to the home who didn’t know where they were headed,” said Edward Schaefer, board member at the Paul Anderson Youth Home. “Some of them are now Chick-fil-A operators, some of them are CEOs of companies.”

Every Paul Anderson Golf Classic has been held in Augusta. The event is the biggest provider of scholarships for the young men.

Paula tells us that donations like this have kept them afloat since her father’s passing.

“We’ve been able to help thousands of other young men who would otherwise been incarcerated,” said Anderson Scaefer..

“These are boys who had no hope before they ever came,” said Betty Burris, Executive Director of the Paul Anderson Youth Home. “And now they’re setting goals and they’re working on what they’re going to do after they finish our program.”

For more information on the Paul Anderson Youth Home, visit https://payh.org/