A record number of golfers – 198 to be exact – came out to the Dempster Family Foundation’s seventh annual Golf Tournament, held at the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club (SCG&CC).
“It went off real smooth – it was followed by dinner and awards and then we had an auction, which was very successful,” Wally Dempster said.
Auctioneer Ed Hill started off by auctioning a $20 bill for $500.
“Not once, but twice,” Wally said. “Oh my goodness, it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. He told me what he was going to do and I said, ‘seriously?’ The next thing I know, we’ve just raised $1,000 for the foundation.”
A number of the major prize winners regifted their prizes back to the foundation, which were then auctioned off by Hill. Exact figures aren’t in yet, but Wally estimated they raised about $35,000 this year, which is $5,000 up from last year.
“It was just an incredible night of giving,” Wally said. “The generosity of people on the Coast just choked me up, it was so overwhelming.”
Wally’s son Ryan Dempster was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher until he retired in 2014. He pitched for notable teams including the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers. Ryan grew up in Gibsons and started his baseball career on the Sunshine Coast.
The Dempster Tournament was started to raise funds and awareness for DiGeorge – or 22q – syndrome, which Ryan’s daughter Riley was born with in 2011.
About one baby in 1,800 is born with 22q, a genetic deletion syndrome that affects swallowing, breathing, and speech.
Another professional baseball player – Ted Lilly, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays – was on the green for the tournament this year. Lilly bought a set of golf clubs during the auction and then regifted those back to be auctioned again.
“Great community spirit,” Jim Pringle, head professional at SCG&CC, said of the tournament. “Everybody who was there had great love for the Dempsters and everything they’re trying to do for 22q. It’s always great to have Ryan come back [to the Coast]. He’s a great guy, really enjoys being back in this community. You can really see how much the Dempster family and everybody else enjoyed the day. It was really fun.”
Funds raised through the Dempster Tournament will be dispersed to a few different organizations that work with children with disabilities.
“[22q syndrome research] is a little more active in the U.S.,” Wally said. “We don’t get as many grant applications from research groups here in Canada. We have done a couple, but generally we’ve been defaulting to other programs that support kids with disabilities, in terms of issuing our grant moneys.”
Last year’s recipients included the Sechelt Hospital Foundation and Challenger Baseball, a nation-wide program that provides children with cognitive and physical disabilities an opportunity to play organized baseball. The final decisions for allocating funding won’t be made until the fall.
To find out more about the tournament or 22q syndrome, see www.22qfamilyfoundation.org
