Hitting the links for Multiple Sclerosis
The Gift: $178,500 and climbing
The Cause: Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
When Greg Kowalski became president of the Vancouver Island Golf Superintendents Association a couple of years ago, he wanted the organization to do more than simply meet a few times a year.
"I just thought that golf courses are very famous for doing a lot of fundraising," recalled Mr. Kowalski, superintendent of the Royal Oak Golf Club in Victoria.
"But that's usually on the pro side. So I thought, well, why can't we do something?" he said.
Mr. Kowalski plays hockey every Friday with a group of other superintendents and industry representatives. They decided to turn one of those games into a fundraiser.
Finding a cause wasn't hard. He and the others knew several people with multiple sclerosis so they decided to donate whatever they raised to the local chapter of the MS Society of Canada.
"The more we looked into it, the more we thought this should be what we're going to give this money to," Mr. Kowalski said.
The first fundraising game was held on the last Friday in January, 2008, and they raised $8,500.
"We were just thrilled," Mr. Kowalski said.
The group got more serious and planned other events around the hockey game, including a banquet and silent auction. The next year they raised $70,000 and this year's game raised $100,000.
The group is now planning another fundraiser, a golfing-related event in the fall, and hopes to raise $250,000 over the next five years for an endowment fund at MS Canada.
Last month, Mr. Kowalski presented a cheque for $100,00 from this year's hockey game to the South Vancouver Island Chapter of the MS Society.
"It was really, really neat and you can't help but feel like you've accomplished something," he said.
"Hopefully this will make people think of golf course superintendents for more than just cutting the grass."
