The Rotary Club of Rocky Mount’s annual charity golf tournament provides an opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities while raising funds to make youth summer camp more affordable for families.
Now in its fourth year, the celebrity-studded Rotary Tournament will benefit the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF) camp.
The tournament will be held for the first time on June 25th at the acclaimed Mickelson National Golf Club in Harmony.
“We're really excited,” says Rotarian Ryan Baum, “We were in Canada over the weekend following the PGA tournament and thought we'd shadow some of the pros and show them what the polar opposite of the pros do on the golf course.”
Baum said 36 celebrities were invited.
“Most of them are former NHL players, including the guy who won the Stanley Cup in '89 and people who have contributed to the NHL.”
The list also includes Olympians, media and singers/songwriters.
As of last Friday afternoon, there were only eight teams left to participate, but Baum encourages people not to wait any longer to secure their remaining spots, as they sell out every year.
There will be a Celebrity Putting Championship at noon and a shotgun tournament starting at 1:30 p.m.. Live and silent auctions will also be part of the day.
We also welcome further sponsorships and items for the live and silent auctions.
“We have some fantastic prizes and some fantastic celebrities involved, but it's only possible thanks to our incredible partnerships and sponsors.”
Whether you're registering a team or coming forward as a sponsor, you'll find all the information here.
The Rocky Mountain Rotarians are close to fulfilling their pledge to donate $50,000 to the camp, which was in fact the first major financial commitment the association made when it was founded.
read more: 300 youth enjoy summer camp at Glenbow Ranch Park
GRPF Executive Director Jeromy Farkas said the support was vital.
“We're so grateful for your support, which allows us to host the camp and keep the fees affordable. We know it's not cheap to send your child to day camp right now, especially a week-long camp, but we're really happy to be able to offer such an amazing experience.”
The camp costs the Foundation approximately $500 per child, but the grant from the Rotary club significantly reduces the cost to $275.
Georg Paffras, president of GRFP, says that as part of their role as stewards of the park, they are continually improving the programs they offer, and he says all money donated by Rotarians is used for this purpose.
“We want these kids to start thinking about stewardship, and they are,” Paffras said. “They're thinking about how to manage the land themselves, and it's amazing to see them take that information back to their parents and their parents are becoming stewards. It's a true 360-degree way of educating people about the land and the parks, and it's a great opportunity to promote this type of environmental education to young people.”
The foundation will run six camps in July and August, three for 6-8 year olds and three for 9-12 year olds, with each camp running two or three times over the summer.
About 190 young people have registered so far, many of whom took advantage of early bird discounts, with capacity for 280 young people.
Click here for more details.