Robert Jones Black – great-grandson of Bobby Jones, businessman, and entrepreneur – today announces the official launch of the Generation Next Project, dedicated to investing in the social and emotional development of the next generation to build the business leaders and innovators of tomorrow.
An immersive digital lifestyle, combined with the isolative effects of a global pandemic has created a mental health epidemic among children, teens, and young adults. The Generation Next Project aims to bridge this disconnect through partnering with specific organizations providing tools and resources for social and emotional development through the lens of golf’s values and Bobby Jones’ legacy.
“Many people only know Bobby as a golf icon, but he possessed exceptional emotional intelligence and understood sacrifice and dealing with adversity, which are critical skill sets for today’s youth,” says Black, Chairman of Generation Next Project. “Our mission is to partner with organizations who align in teaching the mental strength and character of my great grandfather to help our children successfully navigate life’s challenges and, in his words, learn to play the ball where it lies.”
Among the organizations selected as partners of the Generation Next Project are:
- AJGA Leadership Links — Imparts strong leadership qualities as it empowers its more than 7,500 members to embrace social responsibility by implementing charitable drives to help their communities
- Dream Tank — Empowers young people to create their own social entrepreneurial ventures and collaborate to solve global problems. Their youth ecosystem and programming incorporate frontier technology, a discovery learning curriculum, and a holistic focus on well-being
- Positivity Project — Focuses on bringing the hope and positivity our children need to feel ready to work together to impact their futures as an individual and a global citizen
Golf will serve as the central activation pillar for the Generation Next Project, as an individual sport, players learn to understand how to control emotions and how to overcome challenges, character traits which align with the foundation’s core issues of social and emotional development.
About Robert Jones Black Generation Next Project
Robert Jones Black founded Generation Next Project after seeing first-hand just how vulnerable children are to not learning proper emotional skills to react to a digital world with no off button, constant negative stories in political, environmental, and societal spaces and added stresses with financial understanding and responsibility.
Using his great grandfather Bobby Jones as a model for emotional intelligence, the strength of character and overcoming adversity, Generation Next Project seeks to leverage the sport of golf at the amateur, professional, brand, and property levels to rise to the challenges of proper youth development.
This includes the identification and support of non-profit institutions providing solutions in varying environments to create leaders and able citizens for tomorrow’s world and are exemplary of Bobby Jones’ legacy.
For more information, please visit: www.generationnextproject.org
