Charity golf classic provides big returns on investment

Ed Laudise, executive director of The Immokalee Foundation, left, with the foundation's student golf team, winners of the 2008 Charity Classic. The Immokalee Foundation is dedicated to building pathways to success for Immokalee children through programs that help them stay in school and find their talents. In 2008, more than 5,000 children from kindergarten through college benefited from the foundatiion’s efforts to support and enhance literacy development, life skills, vocational training, mentoring and sportsmanship. The foundation also funds grants to organizations whose projects fit the mission.

Now in its fourth year, the Immokalee Foundation Charity Classic Pro-Am golf tournament showcases the many ways in which the foundation gives local children hope for a bright future. It also highlights the commitment on the part of Immokalee community to ensure that socioeconomic factors do not determine a child’s access to life-changing opportunities.

Don and Ellen O'Neill, co-chairs of this year's Charity Classic The Charity Classic raises more than $1,000,000 per year and unites the community in a celebration of both potential and accomplishment.

Such a celebration would not be possible without the support of presenting sponsor Fifth Third Bank.

In 1948, Fifth Third Bank became the first financial institution in the United States to establish a charitable foundation. Today, it continues to invest the time, resources and people to help build a better tomorrow in the communities it serves.

“Now in its third year as presenting sponsor of The Immokalee Foundation Charity Classic event, Fifth Third Bank has made a commitment to investing in the future of the children of Immokalee by laying the foundation for raising the dollars needed to fund many of our programs,” Ed Laudise, foundation executive director, says.

In fact, Fifth Third Bank’s investment in the Charity Classic is much more than a simple monetary donation; the bank also provides company volunteers who donate more than 1,000 hours to making the event happen.

“We build a better bank by investing in the communities we serve,” says Bob Schoonmaker, senior vice president and investment advisor division executive of Fifth Third Private Bank in South Florida. “The programs of the Immokalee Foundation build future givers,” he says, adding children served by the foundation are learning to give back to the community themselves.

Hosted by Bay Colony Golf Club and chaired by Don and Ellen O’Neill, this year’s Charity Classic Pro-Am takes place Monday, Nov. 16. The day begins at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and golf clinic, followed by a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. Participants will team up with a different pro for each nine holes.

Last year a team of Immokalee Foundation students brought home the tournament trophy, and a Pro-Am participant made a hole-in-one for a Land Rover and a Rolex.

To purchase tickets or to become a sponsor of The Immokalee Foundation 2009 Charity Classic, call Jessica Toker at 430-9122 or e-mail Jessica.Toker@immokaleefoundation. org, or visit www.charityclassic. org.

Coming up: A cultural celebration

The vibrant sights, sounds and cultures of Immokalee provide inspiration for this year’s Fiesta of Fun, The Immokalee Foundation’s largest annual fundraiser. This lively event brings together many community supporters for a night of socializing, dining and celebrating the accomplishments of the children at the heart of The Immokalee Foundation. Coming up Friday, Nov. 13, the evening at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, will feature live and silent auctions, cocktails, dinner, musical performances by children from Immokalee and much more. For information about tickets, call 430-9122 or e-mail info@immokaleefoundation.org. 

— Established in 1991, the Immokalee Foundation is designed to build pathways to success for the children of Immokalee. To learn more, visit www.immokaleefoundation. org. Follow foundation news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/immokaleefound or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theimmokaleefoundation. Don’t miss “Pathways to Success,” the new show dedicated to The Immokalee Foundation and community, on The Education Channel (Comcast 99).