Shameless Fundraising for Charity

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Hostrauser
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Shameless Fundraising for Charity

Post by Hostrauser » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:46 am

On Monday, I will be attempting to play 100 holes of golf (over 5 1/2 rounds) for charity.

I am participating in a "Golf Marathon" for Big Brothers & Big Sisters of San Diego. My wife is a Big Sister and mentor and, when I saw the amount and range of good the program does, I felt it deserve some of my time and money, too.

So, please, if you have any cash left over after pouring most of it down your gas tank, consider donating it to this worthy cause.

Kevin's donation page

And, look at it this way: it'll keep me off the forums for a day. :cool: (Possibly longer, since I think my arms might fall off. Has anyone ever shot 1,000 on a golf course? I'll let you know how close I get.)

I'll let the more eloquent one of us take it from here...
Hostrauser's Wife wrote:As you all know, I have spent much of the last few years raising money to support breast cancer research, a cause that is very dear to my heart. This year, instead of the 3-Day, my husband Kevin and I are teaming up to raise money for another cause that is dear to my heart: Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego. Last June, I was matched with my Little Sister Tyra, a vibrant, energetic 12 year old who loves Hannah Montana and wants to be a school principal someday, but who was in need of a mentor to help her achieve the goals she had set for herself. Since then, she and I have had many adventures together, including lots of time playing video games, exploring aquariums and even going to Disneyland! The time I spend with her means the world to both of us, and I am proud to be part of an organization that helps so many children like Tyra.

Image

On June 16, Kevin will be hacking his way through a fundraiser to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters – it’s called the Golf Marathon. But this event is different than the walks I have done in the past….much different! He is being challenged to play more than 100 holes of golf in one day and I am asking you to help by sponsoring Kevin personally. He needs to raise $2000 to participate but we would love it if he was able to beat that goal.

Clearly we need your help and YOU can be the one to get him off to a great start. Please help! Your gift is tax deductible and the money raised will go to match more children with mentors (we currently have 500 – yes, 500!! - children waiting). The Golf Marathon raises funds to match at least 100 children with mentors. That’s 100 kids like Tyra matched up with Big Brothers and Big Sisters…think of what a difference that can make!

The best part is that you can DONATE RIGHT NOW. Just click here to donate (Kevin's donation page) and fill out the form. It takes two minutes. Thank you so much for supporting yours truly in the Golf Marathon.

Melinda
Why is Big Brothers Big Sisters worthy of your support?

Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County (www.sdbigs.org) has been proven to make a lasting, measurable difference in the lives of children and we are helping more children than ever before (a goal of 1,800 children in 2008).

Yet, there are still 500 children on a waiting list. In order to make a safe, happy, and lasting mentor-child relationship, Big Brothers Big Sisters performs meticulous screening of all potential "Bigs." One of our greatest needs is more program staff to interview families and mentors, screen and train volunteers, and individually supervise and support each mentoring relationship. Donations support more program staff so that more children can be served.

The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed over 500 charities to see who was effective in preventing youth violence. Big Brothers Big Sisters was selected as one of only 11 charities were effective reduction in preventing youth violence could be proven. Big Brothers Big Sisters was also the most cost effective of the 11 charities.

In addition to the normal mentoring process, Big Brothers Big Sisters runs several special programs, including Amachi (mentoring of children with an incarcerated parent or parents) and Operation Bigs (mentoring, usually by active or former military personnel, for children with parents deployed in service to our nation overseas).

This past Sunday, June 8th, marked the one-year anniversary of my wife Melinda being matched with her little sister, Tyra. 100% of the money I raise will go to this non-profit organization to help them create more special match-ups like this.

Thank you very much to all who donate!

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Post by malletphreak » Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:34 am

wow Kev - this is an awesome thing you're doing...


I'll see what I can do... to help ya out .. but I can't make any promises :)

good luck playing 100 holes of golf tho:)
Wendy
Kingsmen Alumni Corps 2007
Kingsmen Senior Corps 2009
San Francisco Renegades - 2010, 2011
San Francisco Renegades Assistant Corps Director - 2012, 2013

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Post by Hostrauser » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:18 am

Well, I went out on Sunday for a practice round and shot 44 on the back nine (let's not talk about the front nine), so hopefully I can keep the momentum going.

Still, by hole 97 or so I expect I'll be shooting 44 for the last three or four holes. :lol:

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Post by Hostrauser » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:51 pm

So, on Monday I participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Golf Marathon. I believe the total amount raised was in the neighborhood of $125,000, with my share a modest but sufficient $1,360. Thank you to those who donated!

The golf marathon was 10.5 hours of golfing with the goal of playing at least 100 holes. The 35 or so golfers were set free on the Bernardo Heights Country Club (reserved for only us) and allowed to play one and two balls at a time (encouraged on the three pars). With the extra three pars being recorded on each out and in, my scores for each round were about three or four strokes less than they should have been. That said, I still played some of the best golf of my life. I played a lot of bad golf, too, but I played some really good golf. Something about the stress free, "screw it" attitude combined with the "groove" you get into during a fast pace of play enabled me to hit some shots I was very proud of. Amongst my highlights:

-- Swinging easy, with loose wrists, I had my longest drive of the day (261 yards) on only the third hole. The day started off very foggy, too, so the first several holes were played with virtually no visibility as to what you were aiming at or where the ball was going.
-- In my entire life prior to Monday I'd made maybe 5-6 birdies. I made three birdies in 103 holes on Monday. On hole #24, a par three, I drove the ball about 165 yards onto the green, then sank a 30-foot putt for birdie (easily my best putt of the day, probably the year). Other birdies were on holes #63 and #70.
-- Speaking of hole #63, possibly the best single hole I've played in my life. 375-yard par 4. I'm not a big hitter, but I hit an average-distance drive with above-average accuracy 200 yards down the fairway. My second shot, a three-iron from 175 yards, looked good and I saw it land on the green. Speed being of the essence, I was already in the cart and driving away before the ball stopped rolling. By the time my partner and I reached the green, I saw that it had stopped only about 15" from the cup. The closest I've ever come to an eagle; tapped in for birdie.
-- On hole #81, my third shot was from about 110 or 115 yards out. Using a nine-iron, I hit the flagstick on the fly (first time that's ever happened to me). Of course, the ball then deflected some 50 feet away from the hole and I three-putted for double-bogey.

My scores:
First 18 holes - 48 out + 48 in = 96 total
Holes 19-36 - 44 out + 44 in = 88 total
Holes 37-54 - 49 out + 48 in = 97 total
Holes 55-72 - 47 out + 49 in = 96 total
Holes 73-90 - 44 out + 47 in = 91 total
Holes 91-103 - 50 out + 16 in (four holes) = 66 total
Total score = 534 (+138 over par) :lol:

The first 36 holes went by in only 3 hours. The first drag hit around hole 50. The 50s took forever to past. Around hole 66 (2/3rds done) the "spirit" or morale picked up again, and you got a second wind. But by the last 13 holes I was thoroughly finished.

Thank you again for your support. I look forward to doing this event again next year.

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