Crisis Society celebrates success of first golf tournament

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Wheatland Crisis Society (WCS) is excited to have seen success from the first of what the team would like to be, an annual golf tournament.

The tournament took place Aug. 26 at the Strathmore Golf Club with over 100 golfers coming out to participate, according to Natasha Fyfe, business development and communication specialist for the WCS.

In all, Fyfe reported the tournament brought in just over $13,000, which will go directly to their programs at the shelter, as well as to the facility itself.

“It was out first year doing this, and we were looking at different ways of connecting our supporters and all of our volunteers with our staff and the community,” said Fyfe. “We thought a golf tournament would be a great way to get everybody to come out and get everybody meeting each other and then get to spend some time together.”

Fyfe added that being the first time the WCS has hosted such an event, she and the team did not know what to expect going in but are extremely satisfied with the results.

Going forward, they hope to host the tournament on an annual basis as a way for staff, volunteers and community members to let loose, enjoy themselves and support a good cause.

“Our supporters and our sponsors definitely showed up for us that day — we had quite a few sponsors for the golf tournament itself and then we had a lot of people who just decided to come out and golf,” said Fyfe. “Being our first year, we didn’t want to go too big and too grand for the first time out of the gates. I think next year, we are going to have some more activities on the holes and some fun for our contestants and we’ll be able to show that on social media.”

Fyfe explained the WCS needs roughly $90,000-$100,000 of annual net fundraising and donations to keep the shelter properly maintained and in working order.

Despite rising annual costs, the team has not received any increases to annual funding from government sources since 2015.

Fyfe said she hopes to see the tournament become something locals, and those from surrounding areas, look forward to every year.

Ideally the tournament will develop into a full two-day event rather than a single day tournament.

“Golf tournaments always seem to be a lot of fun and we’d like to raise money in fun ways and not just ask for the give from everybody,” said Fyfe. “We would like to meet everybody and we’d like to come out, have a good time, and get to know people on a personal level – so a golf tournament seemed like the best fit.”