A team of Saint Mary's seniors hosted the "Par-Tee for Make-A-Wish" golf outing Sunday at Juday Creek Golf Course in support of a young boy battling a severe illness.
As part of a marketing management class, students KeelyNoonan, Kelly Conaty, Kelly Kropp, Courtney O'Neill and Katie Dapper were charged with the task of creating a fundraising event for a charitable cause.
The group chose the Make-A-Wish Foundation because Dapper serves as its representative at Saint Mary's. They met with the Make-A-Wish representative in South Bend who then told them about Hayes, a boy who suffers from chromosome depletion, O'Neill said. (Editor's Note: Hayes's full name is not being released in the interest of privacy.)
"We wanted to raise money for Hayes so that he could go to Disney World and meet Mickey Mouse, something he has been wishing for," O'Neill said.
The students said they thought a golf fundraiser for Make-A-Wish would be a perfect fit for their class project.
"Golf is something that appeals to college-age students as it gets nice outside and it is a fun Sunday activity," said Dapper.
The event, which advocated for Make-A-Wish and united Saint Mary's and the greater community in support of Hayes, raised $1,000, enough money to make Hayes's wish a reality, O'Neill said.
During Sunday's outing, 75 participants spent the day putting, chipping and swinging on the driving range, O'Neill said.
The group said they were thankful for the generous support and contributions from the South Bend community, including silent auction donations of car rentals, a set of new tires and gift cards to local restaurants.
"Our group went out and solicited for those donations and got a really great response from many places in South Bend," O'Neill said.
The event also featured wine tasting, sponsored by vendors Fruit Hills, Madison County and People's Winery, O'Neill said.
"[The event brought] together people from campus and community to help inform them about make a wish and to help make a little boys wish come true," she said.
