The organization TOPSports in Mullica Hill will host the Drive for Inclusion charity golf tournament on Monday, May 18, at Pitman Golf Course, an event that raises money for kids with special needs.
Registrations begin at 12:30 p.m., followed by a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. Once golfing is finished, dinner will be served from 6 to 9 p.m. Guests can register for the event online at givelively.org, and have the option of participating in the golf and dinner, just the dinner or being an event sponsor.
The event will include free drinks and lunch for golfers, followed by a dinner reception with raffles, live music and prizes for tournament winners, according to Kayla Memis, fundraising director of TOPSports. It marks the first time for the tournament, which came together after TOPSports spoke with Al Bartolomeo, owner of Bogey’s Club and Cafe at the course.
“He (Bartolomeo) offered to help us put together a golf outing as a fundraiser,” noted Troy Memis, executive director of TOPSports.
“After connecting with TOPSports for the 12Ks of Christmas,” explained Sam Gehringer, marketing director at Bogey’s, “we decided we wanted to go all in on TOPSports and use our platforms to raise money and awareness.”
The 12Ks of Christmas was an initiative Bogey’s sponsored with TOPSports and 11 other local organizations during the month of December to financially support those groups.
Proceeds raised from the event will benefit TOPSports’ mission of enabling play for kids with physical and mental disabilities, as well as developing their physical fitness; self-esteem; and social, technical and vocational skills. To the group, sports are an avenue to these skills.
“Through the enormous help and guidance of Al and one of his assistants,” Memis explained, “we will be able to buy more for our athletes, such as uniforms and adaptive equipment, and pay insurance and league fees for all of our activities. A simple thing like an adaptive bat-swinging device for wheelchair-enabled kids costs more than $1,300.
“Thanks to people like Al and our sponsors, we can do this.”
The golf tournament’s planners keep such disabilities in mind.
“The TOPSports community is primarily composed of the families of our athletes with disabilities, our teenage volunteer Buddies, as well as our volunteer coaches and board members, who are often also parents of participants and/or special education teachers and the like,” noted Kayla Memis.
“This event is reaching folks who are maybe retired and/or have disposable income that allows them to be able to play golf on a Monday, and that is a very different demographic than most of the TOPS’ community at present,” she added.
“We are hopeful that by getting our name and mission out in this new environment, we will potentially bring in new participants, volunteers, and donors, and ultimately spread some ripples of the ethos and impact of TOPSports.”
The Drive for Inclusion charity golf tournament will benefit TOPSports’ mission of enabling play for kids with physical and mental disabilities.
