On a cool and drizzly October day, 106 people gathered together to play a few holes of golf at the gorgeous Course at Aberdeen Golf Course in Valparaiso.
To see more photos from this event, click here!
But this wasn’t just your average golf outing – these 106 people were there for a cause: to band together to raise money to benefit St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
This event, the 8th Annual St Jude Charity Golf Outing, sponsored by the Indiana Beverage company, with co-sponsors Strack & Van Til, Wagner’s Ribs, The Village Tavern and many others, brought these duffers out to support a very worthy cause. For those who may be unfamiliar, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a world leader in the detection and treatment of childhood cancer and numerous other life-threatening diseases. Families of children at St Jude are never billed for treatment, housing or food while their child is being treated at the hospital. Even travel expenses are covered.
How is this possible? Simple. Through the kindness and generosity of those who donate to the facility, whether individually, or through events like the one we were honored to attend today.
IIMM spoke with Eric Nicholson, warehouse manager at Indiana Beverage, and Chris Hicks, driver for Indiana Beverage. Eric and Chris have been at Indiana Beverage for over 12 years each.
“We’ve (Indiana Beverage) been doing this outing for 8 years now,“ said Chris. “Eric and I took over 4 years ago for the person who had previously arranged this event, and it’s just really awesome to be out here today, playing some golf and especially raising money to help kids with cancer.”
Nicholson agreed, adding, “Everything that you see here today has been donated – either by Indiana Beverage or one of our co-sponsors. Strack & Van Til donated the food, and every dime we are able to raise here today will go directly to benefit St Jude’s.”
“We are very proud especially because this is our biggest, most successful outing to date, with 26 foursomes here to play, and we expect this to be our best fundraiser. We expect to raise over $10,000 from this event to donate to help the Children at St Jude’s,” Eric told IIMM. “We’re especially happy and proud to be able to do this, because you know, people may not feel as if they’re able to make a significant contribution on their own, but with 106 participants in this event, we are able to make a much larger contribution to help the kids they treat. It’s a community-based project that brings people together to make a difference and help a really great cause.”
Indiana Beverage has been in business for over 75 years, serving the greater Northwest Indiana region, and recently moved into an expanded facility located just south of Valparaiso on SR 49, across from the Porter County Fairgrounds. This larger facility gives Indiana Beverage room to grow and to better serve their customers, from the IL/IN state line to La Porte County.
Nothing can beat the feeling of working together for a terrific cause, and the smiles on the faces of those we saw teeing off were solid proof!
For more information, or to make a donation of your own, visit the St Jude website: www.stjude.org