Charity Golf Tournament raises $23,000 for FosterAdopt Connect
Published on September 14, 2022
It was a great day at the Fred Arbanas Golf Course as 144 players scrambled to help raise $23,000 for FosterAdopt Connect.
The 36-team field was the largest in the six-year history of the Jackson County Frank White, Jr. Charity Golf Tournament. The September 9 tournament included silent and live auctions, which along with hole sponsors helped raise the donated funds.
Jackson County provides funding for numerous agencies throughout the year. To maximize community impact, the goal of the tournament is to support local charities the County can’t service through the legislative process.
“My wife Theresa and I had an opportunity during COVID to foster a little girl for a couple of years until her parents were able to reconnect, so we know how valuable the work is that you and your staff do to help kids and families,” County Executive Frank White, Jr., said.
“I wanted to make sure that this year we selected an organization that would be for kids and families. We decided that FosterAdopt Connect would be the charity of our golf tournament. I want you to know that what you do is not going unappreciated,” he said.
FosterAdopt Connect Director Lori Ross said the organization is honored to be selected as the recipient of the proceeds from the tournament.
“The generosity of the participants and of Jackson County will benefit the children and families in the foster care system which our agency serves,” she said. “We thank the county executive for his commitment to serving the most vulnerable children in our community.”
FosterAdopt Connect works with children, youth and families as they navigate the complexities of the child welfare system. With the help of innovative tools, a dedicated professional staff and more than 20 years of experience working in the Kansas and Missouri foster care systems, they are equipped to connect children with families that provide love, healing and stability for a brighter future.
According to the organization’s website, “In 1998, a group of dedicated foster parents recognized a need for stronger support, training and companionship as they pursued the difficult and rewarding work of parenting children in the foster care. Many felt isolated and ill-equipped to provide the most loving care for kids who had experienced abuse and neglect. As more and more families were drawn to the support and advocacy offered by the group, it quickly matured into FosterAdopt Connect (formerly Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association), which was incorporated in 2000 as a 501c3 nonprofit social service organization. Rapid growth fueled by the needs of children and families impacted by trauma has expanded the geographic reach and depth of the innovative programs and services offered. Yet, at its core FosterAdopt Connect maintains an “in the trenches with you” approach to serving kids and families.”
“Every kid deserves a childhood free of abuse and neglect within a family that offers love, stability, safety. FosterAdopt Connect actively monitors the changing needs of children in foster and adoptive care within the community to identify gaps in available services. To fill these gaps, we search nationally and internationally for best practices to implement, and if none are available, we create innovative solutions to improve outcomes for the children and families we serve.”
Over the past six events, the Jackson County Frank White, Jr. Charity Golf Tournament has raised more than $100,000 benefitting multiple organizations, including the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, Drumm Farm Center for Children, Sleepy Head Beds, Veterans Community Project, University Health Diabetes Center and Sickle Cell at University Health.