Pirates saving cards available
The Santa Ynez High Football Boosters have started selling their annual Pirate Savings Card.This is the football boosters’ largest fundraiser and helps pay for much-needed equipment and coaches that school funding cannot afford. Through the kindness of local participating merchants offering discounts of up to 50% on purchases or services, the card can pay for itself in just a few uses.
Savings at local merchants include everything from groceries, hardware, ear piercing, restaurants, plants, gifts, bakeries, coffee, auto repair, home repair, wine tasting, florists, tanning and clothing. There are 58 participants in all.
There are just 1,500 cards, so they sell out quickly. The cost of the card, which is valid for one year, is $40. The Booster Club and football team will be selling them in front of various locations around town, and they will also be available at participating merchants. Just look for the orange and black sign that says: “Your Pirate Savings Card Welcome Here.”
Those who are interested in buying a card and can’t find one around town are asked to call Carl Rio at 680-7850.
Trail assistance needed
Garrett Ederer, a 13-year-old Life Scout in Troop 93, is seeking volunteers to help him with his Eagle Scout Project. His project entails putting in approximately one-half mile of trail from Sage Crest Drive (near the entrance to Orcutt Community Park) to Yarrow Drive. There is a trail that begins at the end of Yarrow Drive and visitors had to drive down Yarrow Drive and park to get to it or drive into Orcutt Community Park and walk down past the dog park to get to it. At the conclusion of Ederer’s project, people will be able to walk down the hillside and be deposited on Yarrow Drive right near the other trailhead.Ederer will begin the project at 7 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at Sage Crest Drive. A hotdog lunch, Gatorade, and water will be provided. He encourages volunteers to bring tools if they can, such as rakes, McLeods, shovels, hoes, and hatchets, and also snacks if volunteers think they’ll need them.
Golf tourney seeks teams
A tight-knit group of Central Coast residents with a love for golf have banded together to raise funds to help build the Jack Ready Imagination Park, an area where children, regardless of physical limitations, can play side by side. Hosted by local business telecommunications company Blue Rooster Telecom, the inaugural “Golf to Benefit Others” (GolfTBO) will take place Sept. 28 at the Monarch Dunes Golf Club in Nipomo. The event is to raise funds for the park, a special project of Jack’s Helping Hand.“The need for a universally accessible park on the Central Coast is much greater than most people might think,” said Blue Rooster president Jeff Buckingham. “Our goal is to raise at least $20,000 for this park so our community can have an amazing place for physically disabled children to play among their friends in a safe and nurturing environment.”
This golf tournament is taking a different approach: There is no entry fee. Similar to a bowl-a-thon, GolfTBO has a team fundraising focus. Captains will guide their team to a minimum of $800 in donations gathering pledges from their friends, family and co-workers. Prizes will be awarded to the top, middle and bottom teams. There will be gross and net flights so everyone has a shot at winning. One mulligan will be awarded for every $50 raised beyond that initial fundraising goal, which also doubles as a raffle ticket.
The fun-filled tournament will include food, local wine and craft beer, a silent auction, raffle prizes, gift bag for golfers and a shot at the $1 million hole-in-one contest. All proceeds from the event will go to the park. Barbecue, raffle and silent auction tickets can be purchased separately. Tickets for the barbecue cost $40 and include entry into the drawing for the $1 million hole-in-one contest. Tickets are limited to the first 100 people.
“This event started as a fun way to play golf with friends. Back in the late 1990s, we had a group of friends and co-workers who all had golf in common,” said Russ Lovell, one of the event organizers. “The group eventually grew to include about 40 people. In 2005, we started playing each year at different courses, and last year, we decided to attach a charity to the event. That was how this whole event started.”
The goal is to “have fun while raising money for Jack’s Helping Hand. We want golfers and non-golfers alike to join in for a good time and a good cause,” Lovell added.
An estimated 12% of all students enrolled in public schools on the Central Coast have physical disabilities, but the total number of disabled children in San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties is estimated at more than 16,000.
The Jack Ready Imagination Park will include themed play structures, a sand play area, soccer and baseball fields, basketball courts, and a therapeutic riding center, and the entire park will be accessible by foot, bike, stroller, wheelchair and walker.
For more information on the tournament or the proposed park, visit www.golftbo.com or www.jackshelpinghand.org.