Fisher House Golf Classic Will Benefit Servicemen, Vets

Hitting the links may never feel so good — relaxation and charity is the name of the game.

The sixth-annual Tampa Fisher House Golf Classic will tee off Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Heritage Isles Golf Course in New Tampa. Money raised will go toward Fisher House, a temporary lodging facility for families of wounded servicemen and veterans being treated at the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital down the road.

Golf Classic Director Valerie Casey describes the facility as a “home away from home." 

Severely injured servicemen and servicewoman often have to relocate to the area to complete lengthy therapy at Haley. This means family members, too, often have to uproot, leaving jobs and hometowns behind. 

“Servicemen and –women are prepared to make an ultimate sacrifice for this county, but the families of servicemen and –women sacrifice as well," Casey said. "People don’t realize the sacrifice of the people behind our troops.”

"The Tampa Fisher House, which opened in 2007, is a 16,000-square-foot, 21-bedroom home located adjacent to the hospital where these service members returning from combat areas like Iraq and Afghanistan undergo long, often difficult recuperation and rehabilitation,” Casey added in a news release about the golf tournament.

All money raised — 100 percent — for the event will go directly to Fisher House. 

“We want to beat our goal and make $30,000 this year,” Casey said, noting $28,000 and $26,000 were raised in previous golf classic events.

Four teams are still needed for Sunday's event. Cost for a foursome is $500, or $125 per person.

Not a golfer, or can’t make it? Donations will still be accepted, Casey said.

Participants and other donors can make checks payable to Operation Helping Hand, and include a memo on the check, "FISHER HOUSE TAMPA." Operation Helping Hand operates under the nonprofit tax exempt IRS code 501(c)(3) and receives funds destined for the Fisher House of Tampa.

For more information, contact Valerie Casey at 813-317-8886 or valcasey3@aol.com.