By Madeline Zuckerman
Olive Crest, known for its dedication to preventing child abuse, to treating and educating at-risk children, and to preserving the family . . “One Life At A Time®”, hosted its highly-anticipated Fourth Annual Golf Invitational at the Classic Club in Palm Desert with over 80 players. This event raised over $50,000 of much-needed funds to benefit local at-risk children and their families in the Desert Communities and Riverside County.
Event registration began at 9:00 am for the Golf Tournament, which featured a Shotgun Scramble format, and Awards Reception, in addition to a silent auction featuring sports memorabilia and exclusive travel packages.
Darnell Bing, an Olive Crest and USC Football Legend once again served as Event Chair. At the event, Bing was joined by other USC football teammates, who lent their support to this very worthwhile cause, including Jim Abbott, Marv Williams, Brandon Hancock, Sunny Byrd, Su’a Cravens, Justin Simmons, Ju Ju Smith-Schuster, Jason Seymour, Michael Heid, Ryan Abraham, and Jalen McKenzie.
“I envisioned this event as a way to not only raise much-needed funds for at-risk and disadvantaged youth, but also to bring visibility to Olive Crest’s impactful services and
programs,” stated Bing. “I also wanted to reach out and include some of my former USC teammates in this event, as a way to introduce and educate them to the needs of youth within the Foster Care System. I am so impressed with the positive difference that Olive Crest makes for disadvantaged and at-risk kids.”
Event Sponsors this year included Course sponsor Toyota of Riverside, Reception sponsor Dermatology & Plastic Surgery Specialists, Inc., Hole sponsors included Pacific Premier Bank, Banc of California, H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, Realty Advisory Group, Inc., Joseph Otting, and Entertainment sponsors Ferrera Cigars, and Buzzbox Premium Cocktails.
THE DESERT SUN/LOCALiQ was the event Presenting Sponsor.
“Too many families are broken and isolated, leading to kids being abused, neglected, and alone,” stated Tracy Fitzsimmons, Executive Director of Olive Crest Inland and Desert Communities. “ The Child Welfare System was never intended to replace the family. Our team is focused on expanding prevention efforts – going upstream to catch kids and families before they fall into the Child Welfare System. Our Child Abuse Stops Here® initiative recruits and equips families, friends, and champions to help provide a lifelong safety net to families in crisis with material, emotional, and spiritual support. Through this effort, we are working to prevent abuse and neglect prior to the serious escalation of adverse childhood experiences, strengthening families and generations to come, ” Fitzsimmons continued.
Child Abuse occurs at alarming rates in our community and all across the country. Here are some statistics we all should be aware of:
- There is a report of child abuse made every 10 seconds
- Five children die every day from child abuse
- There are more than 400,000 children in the child welfare system at any given time
- 60,000 allegations of abuse or neglect are made to the Child Abuse Hotline annually in Riverside County, of which approximately 25% or 1 in 4 comes from the Coachella Valley.
About Olive Crest
Since 1973, Olive Crest has transformed the lives of over 200,000 children and their families. For information, call 800-550-CHILD (2445) or visit www.olivecrest.org/coachella-valley/
Olive Crest serves 5,000 children and families each day throughout the Western United States.
