Tournament brings Sunshine to Non-Profits
JASON BEATTY Staff Writer jasonb@nwanews.com
Posted on Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Area golfers braved some chilly winds Oct. 26 to show their support for the future of Arkansas’ children. The Sunshine School of Benton County and the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments benefited from the first of hopefully many annual golf tournaments in Bella Vista, according to Patty Bushland, one of the event organizers.
Approximately 27 four-person teams competed in the tournament, held on the Dogwood Hills course of the Metfield Golf Complex. The strong turnout for the inaugural tournament raised roughly $ 7,000 for the two nonprofit organizations, which was most welcomed by the event organizers. " I don’t think anyone expected it. It just grew and grew, " said Shelli Moore, a representative with NAPVI.
Moore was one of the volunteers working to provide golfers a one-of-a-kind experience at the tournament. One activity that distinguished this tournament from others was the "blindfolded " hole, where golfers could take part in a unique closest-to-the-pin challenge on Dogwood’s 13 th green. Participating players were required to put on a mask, eliminating the use of their eyes, before teeing off. The contest not only gave golfers a good laugh at some wild shots, but it also helped to give them a better understanding of what challenges the visually impaired must overcome, Moore said. While not everyone whiffed a ball into the woods - as Don Wheat found out when he sent a straight shot roughly 250 yards toward the green - all seemed to appreciate the importance of sight and the reasons for the tournament.
The Arkansas chapter of NAPVI was revived in January by Bushland, Moore and others for networking and support purposes. The group helps address the needs of visually-impaired individuals from birth up to 21 years old.
The Sunshine School is a standalone nonprofit agency in Rogers that caters to children with developmental disabilities. The school focuses mainly on children from birth to 5 years old, but it serves all age groups, according to Diane Byram, director of development with the school. The school relies heavily on donations as it receives no funding from school taxes, she noted.
The new golf tournament is just one of a number of fundraisers these groups host every year.
More information about the organizations and their upcoming events can be found online at www. nwabcss. org and www. arkansasnapvi. org.
