Golf for a Cause benefitting Prairie Spirit School Division students

For the last half decade the Prairie Spirit Schools Foundation has hosted a fundraising golf tournament at The Legends in Warman. Due to COVID-19 the 2020 version of the event was cancelled but the organization and course has revamped the fundraising initiative for this year.

Foundation Fund Development Manager Kari Dean said the group didn’t want to lose the traction they’ve built over five years of the event despite the government guidelines of no mass start golf tournaments.

“We didn’t want to lose our momentum and try something different, there is no harm in trying something different,” Dean said to Golf Saskatchewan. “We are finding a different audience, maybe people are feeling a little guilty about spending money to golf, they aren’t serious or members, but they’d be comfortable giving back and giving to charity. The participants receive a welcome gift from Save-On-Foods and a golf voucher from The Legends.”

From June 1 to Sept. 30 you can purchase and participate in a ‘Golf For A Cause’ round at the Legends Golf Course in Warman at a date and tee-time that is chosen by you and support enriched learning opportunities for students in the Prairie Spirit School Division (PSSD). The cost is $125 per participant but you receive the Save-On Foods package as well as a voucher for 18 walking holes at The Legends on another date of your choosing, a $55 value. Dean said the proceeds then go back into the foundation’s programming.

“We don’t take away from what the division is doing because they do an excellent job,” she said. “What we do is the little extras, we do those little things that maybe couldn’t be done because the funds aren’t there. There is only so much money to go around. We do learning grants and special projects, things like that. Without our golf tournament it’s a little more difficult to manage our funds.”

The Foundation dispersed $35,000 last year across the PSSD and approximately $38,000 the year prior. Since 2017 the organization has contributed $136,000 to schools in Blaine Lake, Dalmeny, Delisle, Hepburn, Leask, Warman, Martensville, Duck Lake, Pike Lake and many of the learning initiatives encompassed schools and students in the entire PSSD. Dean said over the years their programming has built off other schools.

“When someone else sees a program in their school, they go hey, that’s a great idea, why don’t we apply for that? They start reaching out to other teachers about programs and ask how can we do that? The key is working with the division where the needs are and what we can do to help them,” Dean explained.

“We’re reaching a lot of students and giving them opportunities to try something a little different,” she added.

For more details on the Foundation’s ‘Golf for a Cause’ program visit the Foundation’s website.