A community-organized golf tournament in Walkerton hopes to raise substantial funds for the Residential Hospice of Grey Bruce Inc.
“We are asking each team to try and raise $500,” says Joe Rys, event organizer and Brockton resident. “I think it would be great if we could raise $50,000.”
Golf Fore Hospice will be taking place on Aug. 11 at the Walkerton Golf and Curling Club.
The event will see 48 sets of four players tee off every 15 minutes beginning at 6 a.m.
The funds raised will be donated to Residential Hospice of Grey Bruce Inc.
“Golf Fore Hospice is a very popular community-organized event to raise money in support of hospice as the government provides only about 47 per cent of what it costs to provide this much needed service,” says Alex Hector, executive director of Residential Hospice of Grey Bruce Inc.
This will be the second consecutive year the Golf Fore Hospice event has been held, however, the idea for the event was built on a previously-held community fundraiser that had much success - the Longest Day of Golf, which was held in Walkerton for 25 years with proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.
“When we retired from the Longest Day of Golf fundraiser in 2018, the hospice group approached my wife and I about getting involved here,” says Rys, who played a critical role in the previous fundraiser's success.
Last year’s event saw over 200 participants and more than $45,000 raised.
“It is a local initiative and people tend to take an interest in it when it comes to personal things, like end-of-life care,” Rys says. “It is really well received in the community at large.”
Hospice care began in Grey County in 2013 in Owen Sound with a six-unit complex that was leased.
Prior to this facility opening, the city of Guelph was the closest location to Grey County to offer hospice care.
After a generous $1M donation from Chapman’s Ice Cream in Markdale, the Chapman House Hospice was officially opened in May 2017.
Since that time the Chapman House has become a well-used facility in the community, often holding a long waiting list.
“Since opening in June 2017, Chapman House Hospice has been operating at very close to capacity and demographic projections have determined that a second hospice will be needed to meet future demands,” Hector adds.
Grey Bruce Hospice began the process of undertaking fundraising efforts in order to build a new facility in the municipality of Brockton last year.
The new facility will help to alleviate the high-demand of the Markdale facility, as well as ensure hospice care is available within a 30 to 40-minute drive to every resident of Grey and Bruce Counties.
While the organization continues to push forward for the creation of the second facility, Hector says with the emergence of COVID-19, Grey Bruce Hospice will be focusing on ensuring stability at the Chapman House.
“The outbreak of COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on all charitable organizations, including hospice," he says. "We have paused fundraising activities for the second hospice site while we work hard to ensure that the Chapman House site is financially viable for the longer term; events like Golf Fore Hospice provide much needed financial support to secure the future."
According to Rys, all 48 tee times for the fundraising event have been reserved but event organizers are taking names for a waitlist.
He also encourages anyone interested in donating to reach out to a committee member or stop by the Walkerton Golf and Curling Club on Aug. 11.
