A Fun and Fabulous Gold Tournament for Love of a Child

By Marie Farrell

Sunday, September 13 was a grand and glorious day at the Wintonbury Golf Course in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Golfers playing in our annual For the Love of a Child tournament happily arrived looking forward to a day spent outdoors in the sun with good friends.  Each player had their own golf cart with a gourmet boxed lunch provided by the country club.  Foursomes played and stayed together throughout the day including cocktails and dinner. 

This is the fifth annual tournament sponsored by the Diocese of Norwich Outreach to Haiti, Inc.  The immediate past Board Chair, James Michel, is the founder of the tournament. James is originally from Haiti and returns there frequently to visit with his extended family.  As with all our volunteer board members, James brings many talents to our ministry. While he currently is not on the board, he continues organizing this annual “fun”draiser that benefits our brothers and sisters in Haiti.  

James rallied the troops, including board members and friends who attended, nearly 60 golfers and guests who supported our diocesan ministry that day.  The event had exciting and fabulous raffle prizes donated by local businesses including the Wintonbury Golf Course, which donated a golf bag, two foursomes of golf, and professional golf lessons.  We thank everyone who contributed to this enjoyable  and entertaining day, which helps those who need a hand up. 

James says he will always be a part of this special ministry “that allows us to join together and help those whose outward needs are greater than ours.” He noted none of this would be possible without the love and generosity of our friends and donors who help Outreach to raise funds for much needed programs in the very poor neighborhood, Christ the King, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Our outreach includes providing food and nutritional supplements to young children and expectant mothers who are malnourished, health and medical care to more than 20,000 men, women and children, sponsoring scholarships to 200 children so they have the opportunity to improve their lives through education.  

Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield is ranked the sixth best municipal golf course in the United States by Sports Illustrated Golf.com.  The course did a fabulous job adhering to the latest guidelines issued by the state to ensure the wellness of all players and guests. We hope you will join us next September!