Tournament proceeds assist programs, residents
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

(l to r) Carlos Cunningham of Meals on Wheels accepts the Westborough Country Club Charity Golf Tournament's donation of $2,500 from committee members Lisa Welsh and Jim Willwerth. PHOTO/KEN POWERS

Westborough - The Westborough Country Club Charity Golf Tournament, which began six years ago as a way for local golfers to give back to the community, has fast become a can't-miss summer activity in town.

"It was just a bunch of us sitting around one afternoon wondering how we could help out," said Jim Willwerth, a member of the tournament committee. "We wanted to do something where people that helped out could see their help being put to good use. Somebody mentioned hosting a golf tournament, which had seemed to work in other towns, so we thought we'd give it a try."

That try has turned into assistance for a lot of Westborough residents.

Willwerth, who made the rounds last week delivering checks to the organizations receiving the funds raised by the tournament, said more than $40,000 has been raised since its inception in 2002, including more than $14,000 in July.

It has allowed the Westborough Country Club Charity Corporation, the official entity that runs the tournament, to help out many local programs, in- cluding Meals on Wheels, the Senior Center fuel assistance program, the St. Luke's English as a Second Language program, the Westborough Police Charity Fund and the Westborough Food Pantry.

Thanks to the money raised by this year's tournament, Willwerth was able to present, among others, a check for $2,500 to Meals on Wheels, checks for $2,000 to the Food Pantry and the Police Charity Fund, checks for $1,000 to St. Luke's and the Senior Center fuel assistance program, and checks for $250 each to the Armstrong, Fales and Hastings elementary schools.

This year's donation to Meals on Wheels brings the total contributed to that program since the beginning of the tournament to more than $14,000. For the fuel assistance program the total is more than $8,000.

Carlos Cunningham, who runs the local operation of the Framingham-based Meals on Wheels program, said the contributions from the golf tournament are vital and much appreciated.

"The donation is essential for us. It helps the program run smoothly," Cunningham said. "We use it to help defray operational and home delivery costs."

Alma Demanche, director of the Westborough Senior Center, said the money the fuel assistance program receives serves as a necessary stop-gap measure for town residents in distress.

"Usually what we do is try to help them work out a payment plan or some other solution with the gas or electric company and in the meantime help them with some assistance to get them to that point," Demanche said.

Willwerth, who has been a Westborough Country Club member for more than 20 years, said the 72-golfer tournament sells out every year, a combination of its reasonable entry fee of $100 per golfer and local folks' desire to help out.

"Everybody gets involved," Willwerth said. "People at the club, local businesses and a lot of town residents. All the money we raise stays right here in Westborough, and our donors appreciate the good work their donations do in our community."

The tournament had seven major sponsors: Ball Financial Services, Carruth Capital, DFX Logistics Inc. - Frank Davidson, E.L. Harvey & Sons, IBM, Unisign of Northborough and Avidia Bank, along with 45 hole sponsors, and more than 60 raffle donors.