Clothes for Kids Golf Tournament tees off on Oct. 18

The third annual Clothes for Kids Golf Tournament will be held Oct. 18 to benefit the Nye County School District’s Homeless Children’s Activity Fund and Court-Appointed Special Advocates.

The tournament is the brainchild of Lee Jolley, who is the head groundskeeper for the Lakeview Executive Golf Course.

Jolley says he loves the game of golf and thought it would be a great idea to combine the one sport he loved most with a worthy fundraiser.

“I started it three years ago,” Jolley said. “I saw that Vegas was doing a fundraiser for coats for kids and I talked to people here and they said we need clothes here. I have been working with Linda Fitzgibbons and she has helped me pull this off.”

Proceeds for the tournament are distributed by Linda Fitzgibbons who works for the Nye County School District and will be given to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children Activity Fund.

She said the golf tournament is the biggest fundraiser of the year for homeless children in the area. Last year the tourney raised $2,957 for the kids.

“This money goes to the very basic needs of the children,” Fitzgibbons said. “It helps them with being clean, having their own hair brush, having soap and shampoo, a towel to dry off with and shoes to wear. Many of the kids I see come to school with just the backpack on their back and that is all they have. The shoes and the clothing from the golf tournament are such a big thing for them. So it has a big impact on the kids.”

Homelessness is defined by the federal government by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act and is all children who don’t have a fixed, regular or adequate nighttime residence.

“Fixed means attached to the ground,” Fitzgibbons said. “So if they are living in the park, that’s not fixed. If they are living in a travel trailer that is not adequate. When parents have five kids in a small travel trailer, that is not adequate.”

She added that under this act foster children are also considered homeless. As of last week, Fitzgibbons said there are 254 homeless children living in the Nye County School District.

The entry fee for the golf tournament is $15 or a new clothing donation is acceptable. The start will be a shotgun start at 9 a.m. There will be prizes for first through fourth teams. Price includes green fees, a continental breakfast and ice cream and sundaes. Mulligans can also be purchased for $5. Registration will be available on the day of the tournament from 8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and there will be no late sign-ups.