FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 28, 2005
Media Contact:
Sunny Kim, Caritas of Austin

512-479-4610 ext. 227

skim[at]caritasofaustin.org

 

 

CARITAS OF AUSTIN CELEBRITY GOLF CLASSIC BREAKS AGENCY RECORDS

Tournament Raised Over $157,000 to Help Needy Families

(Austin, TX) – Caritas of Austin’s 13^th Annual National Association of Professional Athletes Celebrity Golf Classic raised over $157,000 for the social services agency—$29,000 more than last year. The tournament included a tribute dinner and silent auction on June 7 and a double shotgun tourney on June 8. This is the second-largest annual fundraiser for the agency, and all proceeds raised from the tournament benefited Caritas in the fight against poverty, hunger and homelessness in Central Texas.

“The tournament has been extremely successful in the past, but this completely blew us out of the water,” said Julia Spann, executive director of Caritas. “We had hoped to raise $140,000 this year and are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming show of support from our friends.”

“We couldn’t be more excited at the record-breaking success of the tournament,” said Dan Matheson, chairman of this year’s tournament and a member of Caritas’ Community Advisory Board. “The money raised from the tournament will go toward helping families in the community and making sure that they continue to receive the assistance they need.”

The lively tribute dinner recognized Roosevelt Leaks as honorary tournament chair, and Grammy-award winner Ray Benson provided the evening’s entertainment and served as guest auctioneer. Celebrities in attendance included Jody Conradt, Darrell Royal, UT women's golf coach Susan Watkins, former Texas Tech University football coach Spike Dykes and writer and actor Turk Pipkin.

NAPA is dedicated to community service and has hosted a series of golf tournaments for Austin charities for the past 12 years, said Al Mathews, president of NAPA. This year, 260 players participated in the tournament.

Since 1964, Caritas has assisted with basic needs such as food, rent and utilities and helped clients learn the skills they need to gain self-reliance. Demand for food services at Caritas has increased significantly, and this year, the Community Kitchen will serve over 93,000 meals. “Caritas” is from the Latin word for love, and in this spirit, anyone with a legitimate need is eligible to receive help.

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