Deborah Greenwood and Deb Burns, Co-Chairs of the IWLN Golf Invitational
Viki Mendenhall and Beth Zdeblick
It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere was the theme for the Ironwood Lady Niners golf invitational. On March 20, 108 golfers from all over the valley came to Ironwood to not only enjoy a fun day of golf, but to support a great charity: Arizonans for Children. Golfers from Pebblebrook, Sun Lakes, Apache Wells, Cottonwood, Fairway Divas, Mountain View Preserve, Sun City West, Sun Lakes and Sunland Village all arrived bright and early to begin the day of play. Each hole had a different format with a different challenge. No traditional golf at this outing! The second hole was everyone’s favorite. Rather than using that traditional, but sometimes unreliable sand wedge, the ladies threw the ball out of the sand trap, which proved to get everyone closer to the pin than usual. On the 18th hole, paying the golf pro $1 (which he donated to the charity), allowed the golfer to leisurely watch the pro drive the ball for her. Many ladies had never been that close to the green in one shot!
The highlight of this event was the fact the IWLN raised $5,000 for Arizonans for Children. This organization, which has been around since 2003, provides children in foster care an opportunity to meet with their families in a safe and supervised environment. Visitation centers are located in Phoenix and Mesa. The goal of supervised visits is to determine parental suitability in the hopes of reuniting families. Classes, activities, workshops and mentoring programs are provided in the centers to improve the lives of the children in the foster care system. Since the two facilities rely on donations to keep the centers running, the organization was very appreciative of not only the cash donation from the IWLN, but for items such as cleaning products, paper products, toys, games, books, diapers, even old computer parts. Deb and Deborah said, “The tour we took of the facility was enlightening and heartwarming.” They added that seeing dedicated volunteers provide these foster children with the opportunity to heal and grow is beyond inspiring.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about this organization, the phone number is 480-838-0085 or www.arizonansforchildren.org.