Local golfers will hit the links at Apple Creek Golf Course, north of Airdrie, July 12 for the fourth annual golf tournament in support of the Airdrie and District Hospice Society (ADHS), presented by the Airdrie Business Club (ABC).
“ADHS is a community-based hospice, and having the ABC support us means a lot to us,” said Executive Director Lise Blanchette, who added the event promises to be a fun afternoon in support of a great cause.
According to organizer Brent Lovstad, the annual tournament emerged from ABC’s desire to support a local charity. ABC is an Airdrie networking group comprised of 28 business owners, he said, and the club views the tournament as a way to invest back in the community that supports its endeavours.
“We all own businesses in town, and we want to do what we can to help everybody,” he said.
Airdrie is filled with deserving charities doing excellent work, but ADHS was selected, Lovstad said, as it seemed to receive less support than some other organizations, and because it enables residents to remain in Airdrie for as long as possible while receiving end-of-life care.
“We figured we better help them out as much as we possibly can,” he said.
Through the previous three tournaments, Lovstad estimates $8,000 has been raised and donated to ADHS. According to Blanchette, the funds ensure ADHS can continue offering its current programs for free, and will allow the organization to expand programming.
Currently, ADHS offers a “before care” program, where volunteers lend emotional support to individuals at the end of their life, and their families. ADHS also provides financial support from its compassionate care fund to help families cover medical expenses associated with terminal illnesses.
Additionally, she said, ADHS provides an “after care” program to help families cope after a loved one has passed away by providing grief-facilitation groups and cooking programs.
“One of the voids in this community right now is, there’s no grief support for children,” Blanchette said. “If someone has lost a sibling or a parent or a grandparent, and the child is suitable for a group-grief-facilitation program, they have to go to Calgary.”
Blanchette said ADHS hopes to expand and fill that void.
Funds from the tournament are raised primarily through registration fees, Lovstad said. Participation costs $110 per player, which includes a round of golf, the use of a golf cart and a steak-sandwich dinner.
Contact Lovstad at 403-948-5529 or [email protected], or ADHS at 403-880-0424 or [email protected] to register. There is no limit to the amount of golfers the tournament can accommodate.
“Anybody who wants to pay can play,” Lovstad said.
Tee off begins at 1 p.m.
