The air may have been humid and the course soggy and wet, but that stopped no one from having fun at the Goodwill Industries of Michiana Golf Outing on Tuesday, September 13.
The outing was important, and clearly something that no one in the community wanted to miss. About 21 four-man teams registered to play. It wasn’t just Goodwill employees playing either—it was anybody who wanted to come out and show some appreciation for the positive work Goodwill is doing. Debie Coble, president and CEO of Goodwill, laughed thinking about all the people who came out to support.
“Oh my goodness—we have everybody,” laughed Coble. “We have folks that we do business with, we have friends of Goodwill, we have folks who haven’t really heard about Goodwill, we have board members, we have staff—just a whole lot of folks.”
After everyone changed into some dry clothes and banged the wet grass off their golfing shoes, they gathered under the pavilion to enjoy some delicious hamburgers and caramel-covered brownies. People talked, people laughed, and everyone had a great time. When everyone was finished eating, prizes were handed out to the day’s winners—one lucky gentleman even won a Weber Grill.
Goodwill has been holding this annual golf outing for over 30 years. Not only is it a great way for different members of the community to come out and make some memories together, but it’s also a great opportunity for community members to learn more about just what it is that Goodwill does.
“It’s all about bringing people together to have a great time and to learn more about Goodwill,” said Coble.
When most people think about Goodwill, they think about Goodwill’s retail stores. Goodwill’s stores are wonderful, but Goodwill does so much more for the community than people realize. Goodwill has been creating programs for years to help people break through employment barriers. At the event, Coble talked about these different programs to show community members what Goodwill’s goals are and encourage community support.
Jim Cramer, development manager of Goodwill, hopes that the people at the event left with a deeper understanding of Goodwill’s mission. He hopes that by continuing to reach out to community members at events like these, Goodwill will continue to accomplish its mission of helping community members break past the obstacles that keep them from employment.
“We just hope it allows them to be engaged and learn more about what Goodwill is, so that we can spread the word on all the good things that Goodwill does in the community and allow us to build relationships with businesses and people in the community that can help us further our mission,” said Cramer.
Cramer, of course, loves golfing with everyone, or in some cases loves trying to play golf, but his favorite part of the outing was getting to meet so many people who share Goodwill’s passion for the community.
“For me, it’s all about networking and just getting to see all the great people in our community that want to come out and support good causes, and also getting to learn more about their businesses and what they do and hearing the hearts of people that want to see the community achieve good things,” said Cramer.
All of Goodwill’s team members were grateful to everyone for coming out and helping support the cause. They were also incredibly thankful to everyone who helped make this year’s golf outing another great success. Next year’s golf outing is sure to be another great one for the scorecard.
“Thanks to all of our sponsors and everyone that helped make this event possible, and special thanks to Roger Foley who helps this event go on every year. He’s a big help for us,” said Cramer.
To learn more about Goodwill Industries of Michiana and its mission to empower individuals and strengthen the community, visit goodwill-ni.org.
