Community on the Course: Golf Fore Inclusion 2024 raises $13K in Huntsville
Golfers take to the Deerhurst Lakeside Golf Course for the sold-out 2024 Golf Fore Inclusion all-abilities tournament in September. (Photos by Community Living Huntsville)
When is golf about more than golf?
Golfers with and without disabilities teed off for our sold out 2024 Golf Fore Inclusion nine-hole tournament at Deerhurst Lakeside Golf Course on September 26. Sure, there were prizes on the line but, as sunshine peeked through the clouds and laughter and cheers rippled across the greens, fun and community won the day.
Carolyn Dobson and her son, Cole, signed up for the tournament for the first time after having moved to Huntsville in August. “We wanted to meet people in the community,” said Carolyn. Since both Cole and Carolyn are avid golfers and disability-inclusion advocates, the tournament felt like a perfect fit.
The signature fundraising event also served their interest in building a stronger sense of community after having moved from the Greater Toronto Area. Carolyn said they had already felt that sense of community in town. “You walk down the street and everyone says, ‘Hi.’ You feel that. You feel like you belong,” she said.
Carolyn, as a mom and disability-inclusion advocate, is also eager for her son to access services that will empower him in his life, employment, and community connections so he can live as a respected and included community member. She went looking and found Community Living Huntsville. She said she felt a sense of community and community connection from the moment she walked through the door. Carolyn added that, after connecting with our Employment Specialists, Cole now has a part-time job in town, too.
Lorraine Morin, Board Chair for Community Living Huntsville, and her husband, Gerry, also signed up for the tournament for the first time. Lorraine, too, came for fun and community.
“It was almost full when I signed up and I didn’t want to miss out,” she laughed. Lorraine came despite not being a golfer. “I just want to see everyone have fun – including the people and families who access our services.”
Lorraine, whose brother, Marcel, has a developmental disability, said she knows the importance of both disability inclusion and Community Living Huntsville’s work. She noted events like the tournament helped spread the word. “I want everyone to know what Community Living is doing and how important it is that people with and without disabilities live side by side in our community, not apart from each other,” she said. “All people with developmental disabilities want is to be treated like everyone else.”
Morin said there is more work to be done, including the need for more community knowledge, education, and motivation on disability inclusion. “I grew up as an advocate who knew about Community Living, and even I have something new to learn every day,” she said. “That is why it is important to share what we do and how important it is for people with developmental disabilities to be welcomed and included in community life, opportunities, and events, like golf tournaments.”
Golf Fore Inclusion 2024 raised more than $13,000 toward our affordable housing initiatives. These initiatives fall outside of our not-for-profit organization’s government-funded services and rely on fundraisers, donations, and charitable grants to continue.
Special thanks to Property Prep Canada for sponsoring Perfect Putt with Property Prep on the putting green, RBC for sponsoring the Beat the Banker contest, and everyone who teed off for the $10,000 Hole-In-One contest provided in partnership with Hole-In-One Canada, though that prize remained unclaimed by the end of the tournament.
Thank you to the 64 golfers who signed up for the tournament and to event volunteers Joan Jerrett and Troy Belhumeur for their support in making the event run smoothly.
Thank you also to Deerhurst Resort and our 2024-2025 Signature Event Partners, including Tall Trees Muskoka, Lovegrove Construction, Muskoka Party Rentals, Stephenson District Lions Club, Dan Willett Financial, and Refined Kitchen and Bath, for helping make this event possible.
Together, we are opening doors in an inclusive community.
Community Living Huntsville is a not-for-profit, registered charity that supports and advocates alongside more than 300 people and families to live, work, and play in unique and purposeful ways in North Muskoka. Learn more at www.clhuntsville.ca. Follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, and X.
