“People do business on the golf course every day. Why can’t God do His business on the golf course, too?” said Scott Perry, general manager/PGA professional at McCanless Golf Club.
Perry brought that philosophy to McCanless Golf Club when he arrived nine years ago. He started a church golf league for Rowan County, borrowing on an idea from the Alamance County Church League.
Area church golf teams now tee off each week from May through August to enjoy a round of golf and to raise funds to help those in need in Rowan County.
“Ministry can happen anywhere,” Perry said, “even while playing golf. I want to be able to help further the Kingdom of God through my connections in golf.”
On Aug. 28 following this year’s final golf match, The Rowan County Church League and McCanless Golf Club presented proceeds of $2,660 to this year’s charity recipients, Rowan Helping Ministries and Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care.
“I think this is a fantastic way for golf teams to support the community” Perry says. “The teams nominate the charities themselves. They have an organizational meeting in early April and team captains come and nominate charities that can be potential beneficiaries. This allows the people giving the money to decide where they want it to go.”
Proceeds given to charities come from team registration fees and the cart and golf fees paid weekly by team players.
“Our teams feel passionate about what the charities do. A lot of people are touched by the work done at Rowan Helping Ministries and Rowan Hospice,” Perry said.
Since 2006, the Rowan County Church League has given over $16,000 to nonprofit organizations. This year, 14 churches participated in the league. Community Baptist Church Team 2 won the league championship, with Westford United Methodist Church Team 1 placing second.
Other churches participating were World Hope, Highest Praise, Nazareth Community, Dunn’s Mountain Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church of Salisbury, Providence United Methodist Church, Summerville Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church of Landis, Faith Baptist Church, Shiloh United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church of Salisbury, and Rockwell United Methodist Church.
“We are blessed to have the support of our local churches and the golfers who play in the Rowan County Church League,” said Kyna Grubb, executive director of Rowan Helping Ministries. “It is a great way for them to enjoy fun and fellowship while helping others. This generous gift will help many families and individuals in financial crisis in our community.”
Religious congregations are a vital source of financial, in-kind and volunteer support for local charities, Grubb said. Last year, over 90 churches provided volunteer support to her agency, while over 100 churches provided $207,000 in financial support. The religious community also provided hundreds of pounds of food and clothing for needy citizens.
Rowan Helping Ministries served over 95,000 meals through Jeannie’s Kitchen last year and fed an average of 320 citizens each day. Nearly 23,000 people received 549,000 pounds of groceries while over 11,000 received clothing.
Those in crisis received nearly $1.1 million in financial assistance, and 612 guests were given a safe place to spend the night. The agency also provides practical life skills training for shelter guests and a transitional housing program for single parent families and individuals who are homeless but working.
“Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care is grateful to be a recipient of this generous gift from our friends at the Rowan Church League,” said Tammy Furr, Director of Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care.
“The contribution of $1,330.25 will be used, in full, to support patients and families in need of our care in Rowan and surrounding counties,” she said. “On any given day, our team is providing compassionate, professional Hospice Care to approximately 70 patients and their families. Our Care is provided wherever our patients call home, whether in a private home, nursing home, assisted living facility, or in our Glenn A. Kiser Hospice House.”
In addition to providing expert Hospice Care, the organization provides advance healthcare planning workshops, at no charge, and grief counseling services to anyone in the community who has experienced the death of a loved one — regardless of their connection to Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care. As a nonprofit organization, Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care relies, in part, on contributions to carry out its mission of providing quality medical, emotional, spiritual and social support to patients and their families so that they can live fully and comfortably in their final months.
The Rowan County Church Golf League plays May through August and the next organizational meeting will be in April 2015, Perry said. If interested in joining the league, call Perry at 704-637-1235 or email MacGolf@bellsouth.net.