With the tagline “The course of life can be a challenge. Sometimes we need a mulligan.” for inspiration, 112 golfers took to the course at TPC Sugarloaf with the goal of having fun and changing lives. Before the day was over, the nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence in North Metro Atlanta had raised $88,100.
“We simply cannot say thank you enough to all of our amazing sponsors, groups of friends who came out as foursomes, individual golfers, volunteers, community partners and the wonderful staff at TPC Sugarloaf,” said Melanie Conner, CEO of Rainbow Village. “In addition to having an amazing time and being blessed with beautiful weather, we raised $24,000 MORE than last year’s event – something we never could have imagined. It just goes to show how incredibly supportive the Gwinnett County and North Metro Atlanta communities are of Rainbow Village. Those communities share with us a strong desire to help Rainbow Village families pursue futures filled with promise so that their children never have to face another night of homelessness the rest of their lives.”
Second Chance Golf Classic 1st place team – Larry Mays, Joe Mays, Chandler Doughty, and Steve DoughtyNeedless to say, as a tournament, there was a winning team. The foursome of Larry Mays, Joe Mays, Chandler Doughty, and Steve Doughty brought home the win (after a Rock Paper Scissors Challenge between their team and the tying Salesforce team), but the real winners of the day were the families Rainbow Village serves with its 2.5-acre campus that houses five apartment buildings and a community center that includes space for an Early Childhood Development Center, after-school programming, family dining room and more. In addition to housing and childcare, the Duluth-based nonprofit provides financial and career counseling, life skills classes, mental health services and – most importantly – a solid sense of community for the 30 families it serves at any given time. Funds raised from the Second Chance Golf Classic will go to support programming and operations at Rainbow Village.
With presenting sponsor – Columbia Engineering – at the helm, other local companies that served as sponsors for this year’s Golf Classic included: Northside Hospital Forsyth, Siemens, The Lorentzen Family, Teamspring Technologies, Coles Barton LLP, Renasant Bank, Your Wealth Partners, PossibleNow, Motor Cars of Atlanta, Quantum National Bank, Greyling Insurance Brokerage, Wilson Lewis Certified Public Accountants, The Whitlock Group Insurance Agency, HallWay Plumbing, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, BrandMortgage, Jimmy John’s, Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation, Gwinnett Medical Center, Robert Half and United Consulting.
Rainbow Village’s other major annual fundraising event – the “We Are Family” Benefit Gala – is scheduled for Saturday, October 12 at the Atlanta Athletic Club. To learn more about Rainbow Village, make a donation or register as a volunteer, please visit www.rainbowvillage.org.
About Rainbow Village: Established in 1991 and based in Duluth, Georgia, Rainbow Village is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization devoted to breaking the cycles of homelessness, poverty and domestic violence. Committed to serving as a “community of transformation”, Rainbow Village applies a holistic, two-generational approach to serving homeless families with children. With the goal of helping families achieve emotional stability and financial independence, Rainbow Village provides housing, early childhood education, and after-school care, child and youth programming, financial planning, career counseling, workforce readiness, mental health counseling, community events and more. Rainbow Village accepts applications from homeless families with minor children throughout Georgia. To learn more about Rainbow Village, register as a volunteer or make a donation, visit www.rainbowvillage.org.
