Danielle Kang’s chase at the Lotte Championship this week melds her dual passions.

While working her way into professional golf and eventually up the world rankings, Kang’s desire to help children in need ran parallel to her work on the course. She has merged those pursuits this season with a campaign to raise funds and awareness for UNICEF’s efforts.

Kang will donate $100 for each birdie she rolls in during an 11-tournament campaign — including this week at Ko Olina Golf Club — and is also collecting pledges with a goal of reaching $50,000 to benefit UNICEF USA.

“When I was young I really wanted to reach out to children and help vulnerable children around the world and I personally believe that no one should go to bed hungry, especially kids,” Kang said Tuesday. “They’re the purest beings on this planet and what we can do to help kids is what’s going to shape our future.”

Kang opened the campaign by dropping 15 birdies on her way to a tie for sixth at the ANA Inspiration two weeks ago and the pledge drive had raised $37,129 entering the week.

She added seven more birdies to the tally in a round of 5-under-par 67 in the first round of the Lotte Championship on Wednesday. Her round was highlighted by a streak of four straight birdies from the par-5 fifth hole to the par-3 eighth, and she finished one shot shy of her career best at Ko Olina.

Kang said she had wanted to work with UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) regardless of her role in golf, but her ascent in the sport offers a platform for raising awareness. She connected with the organization in 2017 and said she didn’t want her involvement to “just be a photo opportunity.”

“I really wanted to be involved and wanted to be hands on,” she said.

To that end, she took a trip to the Dominican Republic with UNICEF NextGen in February to get an up-close look at the organization’s work in helping mothers and early childhood development and safety among other areas.

“I learned not about just poverty, but I learned about being thankful and being kind,” Kang said. “I definitely met different types of people when I was out there … There were so many people who were generous, and they didn’t even have much, but they were so generous and kind and they were so open and I thought to myself kindness doesn’t cost anything and all it takes is that one action to change another person’s life.”

Raising awareness for UNICEF— which operated in more than 190 countries with providing “health care, safe water and sanitation, nutrition, education and emergency relief” among its aims — is among Kang’s primary objectives and she’s already seen movement on that front as her season picks up momentum on the course.

Along with drawing pledges from fans, Kang said she has also received texts from other players wanting to help and her sponsors, including Adidas, have stepped in to contribute prize incentives for pledges.

Kang said she wasn’t quite right physically during an uneven start to 2019 and considered the Kia Classic last month as her first true tournament of the season. She tied for second at 15 under that week and followed with her third top-10 finish of the season at 4 under at the ANA Inspiration while kicking off the campaign.

“I think my goals are coming together and they work together so I’m very thankful for that,” she said.

“It was fun that it was a major championship and I was in contention (at ANA). The fact that I played well and people were excited, I think they felt like they were part of the team and helping out the cause.”

Information on pledging to Kang’s birdie campaign can be found at pledgeit.org/daniellekang.