The second annual Veterans Classic is at the Westhampton Country Club this Monday, May 22, beginning at 10:30 a.m. to benefit veterans just in time for Memorial Day. Sponsored by the Bob Woodruff Foundation, proceeds from the Classic will benefit veterans and members of the military experiencing food insecurity.
“Nationally, too many of our veterans, service members and their families struggle with food insecurity,” says Bob Woodruff in an April press release from the foundation. Woodruff, a 25-plus-year television journalist founded the organization after he himself was wounded by a roadside bomb while he was a reporter for ABC’s “World News Tonight,” covering the war in Iraq.
According to Anne Marie Dougherty, CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, approximately one in six military families are food insecure. To address this staggering issue the foundation “invests in programs that meet our veterans’ and service members’ immediate food needs and also provide services to tackle the root causes of food insecurity,” Dougherty says. To read more about the foundation’s latest efforts to rectify the veteran’s food insecurity issue, click here.
Monday’s golf tournament will see teams of four play for $10,000, while individual spots run for $2,500. Single players will be placed within a group for tournament play. Caddies are included. There’s also hole sponsorships available, which include signage recognition and two dinner tickets for $1,000 per hole.
In addition to the golf tournament, Monday’s day-long events will include a pickleball clinic and round robin. Lunch and dinner will be served, cocktails will be available and attendees are welcome to a culminating awards ceremony. Guests will also be able to catch a show at 11:30 a.m. from the Patriot Parachute Team, a professional skydiving demonstration team owned and operated by veteran Navy SEALs.
Last year, the Veterans Classic raised more than $250,000 to support the mission of Woodruff’s foundation. Since its inception in 2006, the foundation’s invested more than $120 million, ensuring more stable and successful situations for returning United States veterans, service members and their families.
“Specific to New York since 2021, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested over $1.5 million in organizations that provide food and financial assistance to meet the basic needs of over 35,000 across the state,” Woodruff says. So far, the foundation’s philanthropic efforts reached about 12 million veterans and families while continuing to focus on areas such as mental health and well-being, housing, legal support, financial assistance and employment.
Westhampton Country Club is located at 35 Potunk Lane in Westhampton Beach. Call them at 631-288-1148 for more information.
