RANCHO SANTA FE — The Rancho Santa Fe Rotary will co-host a benefit golf tournament Oct. 26 that will benefit the Navy Special Warfare Family Foundation, an organization that aids the families of Navy SEALs who have been killed or injured.
“The foundation supports the SEAL team’s family,” said Matt Wellhouser, the new Rotary president. “It picks up the pieces to provide from daily support to college tuition.”
“These SEALs do such a fantastic job,” he said. “They have been involved with everything from (capturing and killing) Bin Laden to rescuing people from (Somali) pirates.”
Many train locally in Coronado.
When the local Rotary was trying to decide whom the tournament should benefit, Navy SEALs seemed like a good idea.
“We wanted someone who is not always on the front page as far as charity, but very deserving,” he said.
Also receiving funds from the upcoming tournament from Rotary will be Angel Faces, a longtime favorite charity of the local group.
“We have supported Angel Faces for years,” Wellhouser said.
The organization offers healing retreats and ongoing support to adolescent girls who have been victims of burns or trauma, helping them achieve their optimum potential and helping to develop meaningful relationships for themselves and their families.
The golf tournament, which will be co-hosted by and benefit the programs of Kids Korps, will be held at the La Costa Resort & Spa’s Champions Golf Course.
To learn more or sign up for the golf tournament, visit rsfrotary.com.
Besides news of the golf tournament, Wellhouser announced a change of venue for the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club.
Because of the upcoming refurbishing of The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, the club will be meeting at the same time and day at the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, but beginning on Sept. 18 the club will begin meeting regularly on Tuesdays at the golf club.
“The golf club is excited about having us and it is a beautiful venue,” Wellhouser said.
Of course raising funds is one of the main missions for any Rotary and the Rancho Santa Fe group is successful with various fundraisers throughout the year.
The Sassy Santa event is becoming a much bigger player in that goal.
The holiday event held at the garden club offers a variety of vendors to help shoppers cut down their Christmas shopping lists.
“Some of it is really unique stuff you are not going to find at traditional shopping places,” Wellhouser said.
The proceeds go to finance yearly grants to deserving organizations that are given $500 or more to help finance their causes.
In addition, the club offers funds for drilling water wells in the Sudan, education and medical care for extremely poor children in Mexico and for many years, money for the eradication of polio.
To learn more about any of these projects or more about the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary, visit rsfrotary.com.
