My friends,

I am raising funds for my Special Olympics East Valley Golf program. We have 35 Special Olympics golfers that have a passion for playing golf. Each athlete plays on a team, typically with a parent or good friend, year round at many challenging courses in Arizona. This year we will be playing at Sun City CC, Omni National in Tucson, Antelope Hills in Prescott, Longbow in Mesa, Oak Creek CC in Sedona, Augusta Ranch in Mesa, and TPC Scottsdale. All of the funds raised will go to support this special year round golf program. These funds also enable us to participate in the Special Olympics National Invitational Golf Tournament if we are lucky enough to be selected. The National Tournament is 3 days and, like the PGA, we cannot use golf carts. So it can be very challenging.

I need your help.

I am 40 years old and have been in the Special Olympics program about thirty years participating in various sports. Golf is my favorite but I also enjoy basketball, bowling and baseball, and always try to be the best I can be with the support of my family and friends.  I have worked for Domino's Pizza for three years and in my spare time I enjoy video games, movies, music, nascar, traveling and am always ready to spend time with my older brother at a moment's notice!

This will be my fourth year to play in the East Valley Golf Program. This program has opened opportunites to meet and play with different celebrities such as Luis Gonzales, Bruce Arians, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Grace, Az Cardinals Big Red and the Phoenix Suns gorilla!  I look forward to playing at different golf courses and supporting my teammates for the competitions. 

How can you help?

The Thunderbirds have given us a great opportunity to raise funds by matching all donations by an additional 10%. One hundred percent of the funds stay in our Special Olympics golf program and enable us to continue to play golf and improve our game. Your help comes from sponsoring me for $.01, $.02, $.03 or more per birdie, or making a one time donation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Richie