With school in session, there were no kids out on the course at the Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton on Thursday, but Santa Clara youth were nonetheless the big winners at the 40th Annual Santa Clara PAL Golf Tournament. Hosted by San Francisco native and former 49ers cornerback Eric Wright, the fundraiser was also attended by the likes of Bay Area sports legend Vida Blue and fellow former Oakland A’s pitcher Tommy John.
“Amazing, very successful,” commented SC PAL’s Cynthia Hernandez on the fundraiser. “It was all that we could have expected and even more, a lot of celebrities showed up.”
According to Hernandez, SC PAL is still tallying up the final numbers, but that said, tournament director John Elwood put together a terrific event.
“John Elwood found us lots of new sponsors. He was a key player in this event. John really did a lot for us, he really made this event happen.”
The tournament had multiple large sponsorships, $20,000 from 4LEAF Inc. and $10,000 from Ed Sanchez with Scaffold Solutions. Individuals who wanted to become sponsors and play in the tournament could also sign up for $250 donation.
All the money raised will go to keeping Santa Clara PAL youth leagues for softball, soccer, BMX, fishing, judo, boxing and wrestling going strong—as well as to help families in need around the holidays.
“This is our biggest fundraiser for PAL. It will go to all of our activities,” added Hernandez. “But one of the main things this will go to is our Christmas program. We help 16 families who are in need of financial assistance. We take the kids shopping, every child we choose gets a $250 gift card to Target—Target is a huge sponsor—so they get to go shopping for their family. And on Christmas Eve we deliver a fully cooked Christmas Eve dinner, which is provided by Mariani’s Inn.”