For 21 years, Woolwich Community Services has held the Jeanne Renault Golf Classic to raise funds for the organization’s family violence prevention program.
Through the program, WCS staff support men, women and children in the community dealing with violence – both physical and emotional – get access to counseling, legal aid, shelters and support groups. Last year, the tournament brought in $12,427. Without those funds, the program would not be possible, family violence prevention coordinator Virginia Logan said.
“This is our biggest fundraiser for the family violence prevention program, and without that money coming in, we ultimately wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do.”
In particular, the golf classic is a vital part of the work the program has been doing in local elementary schools for the last decade, she added.
“One thing we do here in Woolwich and the part of Wellesley that we cover is we have an educator that goes into all of the schools, both the public school board and separate school board, and each classroom gets three lessons every year on healthy relationship skills. So our educator goes into all of the classrooms from junior kindergarten up through Grade 8 and she is visiting pretty much every child in our community and they are all learning the same lessons in an age appropriate manner. She’s got lots of fun props and songs and the kids really enjoy it. And to me, that’s the real prevention part of the program.”
The fundraiser will take place August 13 at the Conestoga Country Club and will include 18-holes of golf, contests, dinner and a silent auction.
“The Jeanne Renault Golf Classic happens every year for the past 20 years,” WCS community resource coordinator Alexandra Miciak said. “It benefits the family violence prevention program and that includes educating the community and of course the golfers and everybody that comes out to support Woolwich Community Services the day of. There is a lot of education and outreach that goes on within and also outside of the program that the golf tournament supports through the funding and donations.”
Over the last year, the program has reached 2,990 young people and provided support for over 100 survivors of family violence, Miciak added.
The early bird fee to participate is $125 per golfer before August 4, and $140 after. Registration will open at the Conestoga Country Club at 11:30 a.m. on August 13, with a shotgun tee-off at 12:55 p.m. To register, contact the WCS office at 519-669-5139 or e-mail wcs@execulink.com.
