Mercy Haven’s 18th Annual Golf Outing
“… Don’t Just Meet Expectations, Exceed Them.” – Richard Branson
Commack, NY, July 10, 2017 – On June 5th 2017, Mercy Haven, Inc., of Islip Terrace hosted their 18th Annual Golf Outing at the Hamlet Golf and Country Club in Commack, raising needed funds to further the mission of the agency which provides housing and support services to Long Island’s most at-risk residents.
With our eyes to the skies, the rain managed to hold out this year as our Annual Golf Outing once again took place at the very elegant Hamlet Golf and Country Club in Commack, offering up a challenging course and an exceptional dining experience in the Ballroom. The gloomy weather did not dampen the spirits of all who were in attendance, as our golfers and guests were welcomed to a great day of golf, good food and fun. Mercy Haven’s 18th Annual Golf Outing began with registration, breakfast and Bloody Mary’s in the Ballroom, followed by a 12:00 shotgun start. The all-day event hosted 109 golfers plus 60 more dinner guests and raised over $121,000, our highest amount achieved in 18 years! Monies raised will benefit the supportive programs and activities for Mercy Haven’s residents.
Golfers had many opportunities for contests on the links, including Hole-In-One chances for a 2017 Ford Mustang and $10,000 cash. Ever-loyal Bud Harrelson, former NY Met and co-owner of the LI Ducks, was on-hand once again at hole #8 offering up some great conversation and his “Closest to the Pin” Contest for our golfers. The lucky winner received a luxury suite for 20 to a LI Ducks game. The tournament, which also featured contests for the longest drive and low net foursome, was sponsored by Empire National Bank, proud Gold Business Partner of Mercy Haven. Special thanks, also, to our Bronze Business Partners: Farrell Fritz, P.C.; Harvest Power Solar; Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, PC; and New York Community Bancorp., (and Dinner Sponsor: Northwell Health/Southside Hospital.)
As our guests were enjoying their dinner, Executive Director, Sister Pat Griffith greeted them with a warm introduction of our speaker, Karen, a resident in our Supportive Housing program. Before finding a home with Mercy Haven 2 years ago, she described her life as one that was filled with chaos. “Do I continue to struggle – resisting the inevitable – or do I surrender to the obvious and ask for help, yet again?” Mercy Haven offered her opportunities for recovery which included medication management, a stable job in our Supportive Employment Program, and attending powerful and uplifting programs. She spoke to our guests about living her life with a psychiatric diagnosis. “I accepted my life as a person with a limitation after I understood that I was treating an organ as others would treat diabetes. I have learned to apply strategies of behavior modification to maintain my mental balance, like the way exercise relieves stress, and the way diet restores functionality.” She spoke of society’s slurs – harmful vocabulary such as “maniac,” “lunatic,” or “psychopath” – that continue to stigmatize and foster inadequacy. “We cannot call any member in our society a slur. When we address the vocabulary we use to describe me, my peers or my community, I assure you more people like me will be moving forward into a life of recovery.” She aspires to continue her education to become a mental health attorney. She concluded to a standing ovation and warm wishes from our guests.
Sister Pat extended words of thanks to guests for their continued support and encouragement. She impressed upon them that “we are living in a very tenuous time right now as a society,” under the direction of our new federal administration. “We know that what is being singled out as ‘Good for America’ isn’t going to be good for all. Programs like ours which aren’t funded appropriately now live with more anxiety of what the impact will be of any of these changes on our residents, their health and mental health care, and ability to provide for themselves and families on such limited income.” Grateful for thirty-three years of service to the community and the opportunity to move forward with the mission, Sister Pat stressed the importance of compassionate support not only for today, but year-round, which is never taken for granted.
The evening continued with golfers and guests taking chances on raffles and silent auction prizes, as well as a 50/50-Split-the-Pot raffle. The Live Auction this year featured our very own professional auctioneer and committee member, Dave Winter who offered up Yankee’s field tickets, BOSE speakers, a private flight for 2 to Nantucket Island and Broadway show tickets complete with a limousine ride, just to name a few. The auction was a complete success, as evidenced by the generosity of our guests. Paul Conefry, Board Member and Jim DiGiovanni, Advisory Council Member served as Golf Committee Co-Chairs. They thanked the committee for their tireless efforts and presented gift cards to the contest winners. A great day of golf, partnered with warm wishes for the year, lead us to look FOREward to next year, our 19th Annual Golf Outing!
