On Monday, Dec. 3, Karen Fielding presented a check for $6,691.70 on behalf of the 17th Annual Golf Fore Kids Tournament which took place on Dec. 9, 2021. Golf Fore Kids is a 4-person scramble golf tournament created to aid underprivileged children in the Virgin Valley, Moapa Valley, and Scenic/Beaver Dam/ Littlefield areas during the Holiday Season.
The community support for this event has been astounding, and we thank everyone who has participated and donated over the years to make this tournament possible. Golf Fore Kids has helped bring Christmas gifts to hundreds of children each year and has raised over $675,000 in cash and toys. That is an incredible feat!
The event has grown considerably over the years with some of the golfers participating every year the tournament has been taking place.
The 17th Annual tournament had 564 community members participating for the kids.
The event was sponsored by Mesquite Gaming (MG) as it has been for years with MG providing the food, service, and venue for the banquet which is held after the golfers have finished their 18 holes.
This year golfers rushed in for the heat that was also provided inside the event tent; it was a cold, windy, and rainy day but the golfers pushed through the inclement weather “for the kids.”
Golf Fore Kids was able to help 147 families in Mesquite, all families had multiple members.
Bill Ennis is overwhelmed by the generosity of the event, the community, and the people who work hard behind the scenes putting it all together. The money received is placed into the Salvation Army’s general fund which helps Virgin Valley residents with utilities, food or other needs after the Salvation Army’s yearly grant money has been exhausted and before another grant is available. Ennis said, “The donations come right at the time when they’re needed the most giving enormous benefit to the community.
The 17th Annual event was so successful the Golf Fore Kids committee members were able to reach beyond Mesquite and help the communities of Beaver Dam and Moapa Valley’s Perkins Elementary School. Principal Mortensen is the principal at Perkins Elementary and Moapa Valley High School. He helped facilitate the program for his students and their families.
Golf Fore Kids Committee members were not completely astonished by the outpouring of participants, area businesses, or Mesquite Gaming. “Fielding said, the event is so big and people so generous because it’s Mesquite, they’re always generous but this is special to so many because it’s for the kids.”
Fielding has been helping to organize this event for most of the years it’s been taking place because she, many years ago, was in need of the help they give. The year she found herself the recipient of the Angel Tree Program was the year that everything for her changed. She was so overwhelmed with gratitude she promised herself she would pay it forward with this program for the rest of her life. She has kept that promise for 16 years so far and can’t wait until the next event which she and other members have already begun planning.
The 18th Annual Golf Fore Kids 2022 is scheduled to take place on Dec. 8. Registration will open on Oct. 1 at 6 a.m. on the website www.golfforekids.org. Golfers are urged to be ready and prepared to hit the website first thing; the event fills up very quickly. For more information on Golf Fore Kids, you can visit their website listed in the article.