The Hermosa Beach Education Foundation will host its first golf fundraiser next month at the Los Verdes Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes.
The HBEF, an all volunteer-led nonprofit, will continue its fundraising tradition with The Strand Classic on, Sept. 16, following its spring fundraiser, Hearts of Hermosa.
“The exciting thing about this event for us as an organization is it opens up not only a new revenue stream for us,” said HBEF President Lauren Merriam Sprague, “but a new group of volunteers and a new group of local business partners.”
The event was inspired by HBEF golf chair Sean Cato and his years of playing in various charity golf events, including Swing for Wishes, a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Hawaii. Swing for Wishes is a full-day event in Hawaii that takes place in the fall, and brings out pro athletes and plenty of sponsorship opportunities.
“It’s one of those things where the second it opens, it sells out because of how exciting it is and how engaging it is throughout the whole whole day that you’re there,” Cato said. “I was thinking if we could do something like that for our schools and just really make it a fun experience.”
Cato is “in talks with former PGA (and) LPGA pros (who) may be willing to show up on the course and donate their time for the day,” he said.
Cato said he hopes the event “takes a typical day of golf and turns it into more of a fun event that hopefully can grow some legs and have a long-standing run within the community.”
The tournament format is a “three-person scramble” with two teams per hole.
The goal, Cato said, is to reach 50 teams in the tournament’s inaugural year — but it could have as many as 72 teams.
The entry fee is $1,250 for a three-person team. The single player entry fee is $417, and those interested can be paired with others to form a team.
Registration and a welcome bar will open at 11:30 a.m. The tournament will start at 1 p.m.
For those who are not participating in the tournament, a VIP sunset reception will take place beginning at 5:30 p.m.; it will include a taco bar feast, two hosted beverage tickets at the 19th Hole Bar and access to the awards ceremony, which will begin at 6 p.m.
Tickets for the reception are $75.
HBEF, which launched in 1992, raises $1 million annually. It was formed “to raise funds for academic programs, bridging the gap between state funding and the financial requirements for providing excellent TK-8 grade education,” according to its website.
For more information, email hbef-golf@hbef.org or visit hbef.org.