TORONTO, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - While the RBC Canadian Open officially tees off on July 23, thirteen children's charities are already winners and will share $535,000 in total donations through #RBCGolf4Kids, an online social media charity challenge.

"On behalf of all the Team RBC players - we are tremendously grateful to our fans for tweeting and sharing our content and to RBC for their generosity," said 19-time PGA TOUR winner Ernie Els. "For me, these funds will help thousands of children by providing access to a digital e-learning platform and best practices in education and therapy in the treatment of autism around the world. I know each of our respective charity partners will be able to put their funds to good use and help so many children and families."

For the second year, Team RBC golfers and the public participated in a social media charity challenge using the hashtag #RBCGolf4Kids - the more shares of #RBCGolf4Kids, the more dollars raised for children's charities. Over a five week period, the pro golfers were challenged to use and raise awareness of the #RBCGolf4Kids hashtag through a series of content segments ranging from Q&A's to giveaways, all driven by photos and social engagement. Three additional bonus challenges, including best celebrity and throwback photos, were issued and judged by Jim Nantz to offer the pros the chance to increase the funds raised for their select charities. Throughout it all fans were encouraged to share, vote or retweet to help the golfers win a larger portion of the $535,000 purse.

"The success of our #RBCGolf4Kids program is a direct result of the passion and commitment our Team RBC players have for giving back to their communities and to kids," said Jane Broderick, chief brand and communications officer, RBC. "We are proud to help so many deserving charitable organizations and it's great to see how a little friendly competition can have such a tremendous impact on golf fans, the players, the charities and RBC."

The charity challenge helped generate awareness internationally for the thirteen charities as fans, celebrities, influencers and others tweeted and shared content. The top three charity beneficiaries are Els for Autism, Children's Medical Research Foundation Crumlin and Blessings in a Backpack.

"#RBCGolf4Kids is a terrific campaign that helps raise awareness and funds for children's charities around the world and we're excited to see players and sponsors extend the PGA Tour's legacy of charitable giving in a unique and innovative manner," said Ty Votaw, EVP and chief marketing officer of the PGA TOUR.

Here are the final results:

For more information, visit teamrbcgolf.com.

RBC GOLF
RBC proudly supports golf around the world through high profile relationships with the PGA TOUR and Golf Canada. RBC is the Official Banking and Financial Services partner of touring professionals Jason Day, Graeme McDowell, Brandt Snedeker, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Ryan Palmer, Mike Weir, Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Brooke Henderson and Morgan Pressel. As the title sponsor of both the RBC Heritage and the RBC Canadian Open, RBC also supports emerging Canadian golfers through Golf Canada's grassroots developmental programming, their Canadian Amateur Golf Championships and high performance national team. RBC is one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies and among the largest banks in the world, as measured by market capitalization. Follow us on Twitter @RBC.

SOURCE RBC