TPC Rose is a group of professional women who join to raise money for one charity each year. On this day 116 golfers hit the course for some fun and fundraising.
“Because of the pandemic we had no fundraisers in 2020, but in ’21 we decided to just go full steam ahead,” said President Sharon Krumme.
They will combine money from the golf tournament with a fundraiser in November called, “Moonlight Gala” and hand over a check to Hope for the Community Food Shelf of Blaine. With the gift usually in the six figure range, the intent is to make an impact.
“We’re thankful for the golfer to be here helping us sponsor Hope for the Community, because it’s all about raising money,” said Krumme.
Hope for the Community Food Shelf started small a few years ago and grew into the county’s largest food shelf.
“When we opened it up in 2010 in response to the Great Recession, we didn’t know what we were doing and we put the food in snow banks to keep it cold,” said founder Dr. Alan Goracke. “The first week we helped 27 families and now we’re helping about 800 families every week.”
They finished 2020 serving 43,000 families more than 2 million pounds of groceries. Earlier this year, TPC Rose chose the food shelf out of about 30 applicants as this year’s beneficiary. The plan is to use the money to expand.
“The need that we see right now for food shelves is in the schools. The elderly population and students, they’re the ones that are really vulnerable during times when we struggle with hunger and security. So we would like to get into the schools and the colleges,” said Goracke.
They already have a presence at Anoka Technical College.
On the 18th tee, golfers took a moment to thank the charity for the work they are doing. For the women of TPC Rose, it’s a way to make a difference.
“You make friends, but you come together for a cause. When everybody does some part of it, it works out really well,” said Krumme.
Since the group’s inception in 2008, they’ve raised nearly $1.2 million for area causes. Registration for their Moonlight Gala starts in September. The event is held in November and is open to the public.
