Clothes for Kids tournament continues to benefit region
HARRISBURG – Thursday dawned hot enough that little dew was left on the grass at Shawnee Hills Country Club, home of the 15th Annual Fowler-Bonan Foundation Clothes for Kids Youth Golf Tournament.
Despite the heat that saw some golfers and spectators drink entire bottles of water over the course of each hole, 65 youth golfers persevered the humidity and blazing sun to make the event a success, according to Fowler-Bonan chairman Dale Fowler.
Fowler, state senator for Illinois' 59th Senate District, said the point isn't just to provide a quality youth golf tournament free of charge for the region. Instead, it's also a chance to showcase donors who provide for Clothes for Kids.
"It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since we started this," Fowler said, recalling the first Clothes for Kids tournament. "We've been able to help many underprivileged children from that point, and continue to increase the number of children we serve."
Indeed, the story of the foundation's clothing initiative stems from a childhood memory of Fowler's. As a boy, he rode a school bus to what was then known as Hillcrest Elementary School in Eldorado. Some children who rode the bus with him had only very ragged clothing to wear and consequently were treated poorly by some other children at the school.
The first year Clothes for Kids held its tournament, Fowler took the proceeds back to that school to help a few children in the Eldorado area, he said.
"We raised about $1,500 hundred that first year and we were able to help some of the children there," Fowler said. "I'll never forget that the teacher of the first little girl we helped said the girl came in the next day saying, 'Teacher! Teacher! Look at my shoes! Look at my new clothes!'"
Having new shoes and clothing provides a certain level of self-esteem that some underprivileged children don't receive, Fowler said.
Now, with the Clothes for Kids golf tournament well-established, the donations that come in as a result mean fewer children each year in the region will face a lack of clothing or a coat for cold weather, he said.
"We've gone from that small group of children we helped to serving children from 18 counties across southern Illinois, and that's all thanks to our donors, the teachers and social workers who help us, the media support – all of the help we get," he said.
Though all donations had not been totaled early Thursday afternoon, Fowler said this year's donations would be more than $32,000.
"People ask me all the time, what's your goal. I've never had a goal other than to work hard, raise money and spend it on the kids. What we bring in is what we spend," he said. "We've never had to turn away an order so farm, and hopefully we never will have to."