OLIVER PAIPOONGE – A quarter-of-a-million dollars is a lot of money.
The staggering figure, topping last year’s mark by about $60,000, is precisely what the Staal Foundation Open will be donating to local charities in 2016.
It’s phenomenal, said Camp Quality’s Ashleigh Quarrell, whose organization will benefit once again from the proceeds of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Canada’s Thunder Bay stop.
“I was floored,” said Quarrell, after the oversized check with the $250,000 amount was revealed on Sunday at the conclusion of the tournament at Whitewater Golf Club.
“They continue to go above and beyond every year. This number has grown dramatically since the beginning – and in the beginning it was already an incredible number.”
The money is critical for Camp Quality, which provide a summer outdoor haven for children who are battling cancer.
“We’re 100 per cent reliant on donations from individuals, organizations and fundraisers. This kind of money will do some much to allow us to help our campers, our children with cancer and their families, both with our signature week-long camp, but also with all the support we give them throughout the year,” said Quarrell, crossing her fingers the event extends beyond 2016.
NHLer Eric Staal, whose family’s namesake foundation will also benefit from the fundraising effort, allowing it to also help children with cancer, said he couldn’t believe the $250,000 figure when he first learned how large this year’s donation would be.
“It’s phenomenal. There’s not much that words can describe,” said the Minnesota Wild forward. “It’s great to have the commitment and the support this community has shown – the corporate support, the volunteers – you could go on and on and on.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to give back to some very worthy charities that make a difference.”
The Thunder Bay Health Sciences Foundation is the other beneficiary of the money.
Tour officials were quick to point out during closing ceremonies that the amount raised is the most of any of the developmental circuit’s 12 stops across the country and players look to the event as the Tour’s tournament benchmark.
Scott Pritchard, the Mackenzie Tour’s director of tournament business affairs, said he can’t say enough about how the Thunder Bay public has embraced the Staal Foundation Open.
He said he plans to work hard to ensure it continues, its three-year deal expiring after this year’s edition.
“Quite frankly, our other tournaments look to this as our benchmark and they want to achieve what they can, based on what they achieve here,” Pritchard said. “Every market is different, but this event in this market is important to us.
“It’s the talk of the tour every year and it’ll be the talk next week at the RBC Canadian Open.”
