Fox Chapel Area Rotary golf outing raises funds for charity

The Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area raised more than $30,000 at its Golf Classic outing and Raffle at River Forest Country Club on Sept. 20.

All of the money will be given to a number of local and international charities the local club supports, according to club president Dr. Steve Murphey.

Fox Families Care, which provides food, clothing and other support to area students, was the prime beneficiary of this year’s golf outing. A final list of recipients and the amount they will receive will be determined by the Club’s board this fall, according to Murphey.

In the last year alone, Fox Families Care sent 100 children to summer camp, often for the first time, purchased and distributed more than 5,600 meals for children who were not in school during the covid pandemic, provided 362 sets of bedding to families in need and delivered fresh food boxes and fresh produce twice a month to families with school-age children in Sharpsburg and Blawnox.

“We had to cancel last year’s outing due to the covid-19 pandemic, but the charity needs in our greater community actually escalated and our members and corporate sponsors stepped up to raise $50,000 in 2020 in honor of our 50th year as a Rotary Club,” Murphey said in a news release. “We have had to meet remotely using Zoom for more than 14 months to keep our club vibrant. We’re back meeting now most Wednesdays at the Pittsburgh Field Club and it was great to get out in the fresh air at River Forest on a beautiful sunny day to have some fun and raise a lot of money for some very responsible charities.”

Some 91 golfers participated in the scrambles event. Golf chair Jim Michaels also lined up 37 Rotarians and friends of Rotary to volunteer the day of the event to conduct the very important $20 raffle, monitor the hole-in-one contest, take photographs and sell “extras” such as the $20 Miracle Putt tickets. The various raffles associated with the golf outing cleared more than $12,000, while a record number of corporate and individual sponsors recruited by Michael’s committee stepped up to contribute nearly $18,000 towards the bottom line.