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Ernie named Heisman Huminitarian winner

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Ernie and Ben

Legendary South African golfer Ernie Els will receive the Heisman Humanitarian Award from the Heisman Trophy Trust in New York City in December.

The Big Easy is the 12th recipient of the award for his work in helping those with autism.

‘From the beginning, our goal has been to create the Center for Excellence which would be an example of what can be available to individuals on the (autism) spectrum,’ Els said in a statement.’I’m honored to receive this year’s Heisman Humanitarian Award recognizing my work with the autism community.’

In 2009, Ernie Els and his wife Liezl established the Els for Autism Foundation shortly after their son, Ben, was diagnosed with autism. The Els have donated millions of their own money, and through dedicated fundraising they opened the first components of The Els Center of Excellence.

The Center, based in Jupiter, Florida, serves the local, national and international autism communities and is game-changing resource in the field. To date, his programs have served over 3,647 individuals with Autism and their families from 13 countries, focusing on education, global outreach, therapy, research, recreation and adult services.

Els’ programs extend to the links as well with his innovative Ernie Els #GameON Autism Golf program, which encourages participants to learn golf skills while practicing specific autism learning concepts including communication, emotional regulation, motor and social skills.

He is a four-time Major, his first coming at the US Open in 1994 and his last at The Open in 2012.