"Birdies for Charity" Celebrates Record-Breaking Year - WQAD: On Monday, October 31, 2011, representatives from nearly 500 charities gathered in the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Ill. to find out how much the "Birdies for Charity" Program raised this year. The total is a record-breaking one -- $5.28 million.

"Birdies for Charity" starts even before the John Deere Classic does. People begin pledging and trying to guess the total number of birdies golfers will get by the time the tournament is over. 2011 was even better than 2010 - there were 2,160 birdies.