Moon Brook Charity Classic Committee donates time and money to St. Susan's.

St. Susan Director Sue Colwell is presented a $2,500 check by Moon Brook Charity Classic Chairman Mike Roberts. Other members of the charity classic committee are seen standing in the back group. (Photo by Jason Sample)

Members of the Moon Brook Country Club were busy Feb. 23 serving a hot meal to those who need it most in Jamestown. The group, comprised of members of the Pro-Am Charity Classic committee, were at St. Susan's Center to not only volunteer their time, but to also present a $2,500 check to soup kitchen to help the agency in its effort to fight hunger in the south county.

"The committee gets together every year and decides which charity will receive a donation. When we got together this winter, St. Susan's name came up and it was pretty much unanimous that's who we'll donate to this year," explained Mike Roberts, Charity Classic chairman.

For 26 years, Moon Brook has hosted the Pro-Am Charity Classic with proceeds going to an area charity. In recent years, proceeds were given to the Helping Hands Association, a group of retired New York State Troopers who help grant wishes to terminally ill children in the area.

"Helping Hands is great agency with a worthy cause, but we thought we should try to reach out to other non-profits this year," Roberts said. "We knew that after the holidays, people may loose sight of St. Susan's and its mission, so we thought by making this donation we could not only help them out financially, but also get it back on everyone's minds."

Besides presenting a check, Roberts and nearly a dozen other committee members were also busy throughout the day serving meals to the guests of St. Susan's. For many of them, it would be their only meal of the day. "The need is amazing," Roberts said. "If we can do our small part to help make their life a little better, that's what it's all about."

Roberts says the committee is already laying out the details for the 27th annual tournament, which will take place this year on June 21. "We get 30 pros from the Western New York PGA each year, and they team up with 90 amateur golfers," Roberts explains.  Some of the pros who've taken part in the past include Lonnie Neilson, who currently plays on the PGA's Champion's Tour. "The week after he played here last year, he went on to win the Dick's Sporting Goods Open. So we like to think he tuned up for that victory at Moon Brook."

Roberts says there still are some openings available in this year's Charity Classic, but they are filling up fast. "We're lucky because some local tournaments have been struggling to get enough participants in recent years, but we haven't ran into that problem. It's an event that everyone looks forward to. We do our best to make it a win for the charity, the WNY PGA, the country club, and the players."

Anyone interested in making a donation or volunteering some time at St. Susan's can do so by contacting the center at 716-664-2253. They can also be found online at stsusancenter.org.

To learn more about the Moon Brook Charity Golf Classic, visit the country club online at moonbrookcc.com or call 716-484-1720.