Charity golf tournament sends kids with disabilities to camp

June 17, 2015 · 0 Comments

Around 70 golfers teed off for the second annual Friends of We Care golf tournament last weekend, raising over $7,000 to send kids with disabilities to camp.
Photo by Jake Courtepatte
By Jake Courtepatte
A crowd of 70 golfers took to the links at Kettle Creek Golf Club for the second annual Charity Golf Challenge, in support of Friends of We Care.
Organizer Brent Morning was thrilled with the turnout, almost doubling the number of golfers from his inaugural tournament in 2014.
“You’ve got to send a lot of emails to get that many players out, but it was well worth it,” said Morning. “Everyone seemed happy with the format of the day, and it paid off.”
The tournament raised over $7,000 for the Friends of We Care foundation, a charity organization focused on sending Easter Seals kids to camp. As a close friend of We Care executive director Kevin Collins, Morning has been a part of the Easter Seals program for a long time.
“I worked with Easter Seals for many, many years,” he said. “I think that Friends of We Care is a valuable organization to help out.”
Adding to the allure of the day was a number of valuable items up for silent auction, including an autographed photo of hockey legend Bobby Orr, as well as a signed Jonathon Toews hockey jersey. Sold for $750, Morning got a hold of the three-time Stanley Cup champ’s jersey from Mike Kitchen, Blackhawk’s assistant coach and good friend who happens to be from Schomberg.
In terms of the actual golfing, the shotgun start was accompanied by a few contests, including a putting contest won by local resident Gary Vogan.
“It was a great time for everyone, I was so thrilled to see everyone have a good time, and for charity,” said Morning.
Among the crowd was four-time Olympic skier Brian Stemmle, Morning’s special guest for the tournament, as well as Canadian actor Neil Crone from the CBC show “Little Mosque on the Prairie.”
Morning would like to thank the dozens of sponsors who made the event possible.
With this year’s event still fresh in his mind, Morning has already started thinking ahead to next year’s tournament.
“Aside from a few more people, the capacity is around 80, there shouldn’t be much to change. The tournament was a hit … why change a good thing?”
For more information on the tournament, visit www.charitygolfchallenge.ca.