Turning Stone Resort Championship

113 CHARITIES PARTICIPATING IN 2008 EMPOWERMENT FUND EFFORTS

Posted: 07/01/2008
In the Upstate New York Empowerment Fund’s first year, 113 participating charities raised close to a quarter of a million dollars through the Turning Stone Resort Championship PGA TOUR® event. Now in 2008, the same number of groups again is working to raise money for their own causes by selling tickets to the second Championship.

Last year, 113 groups raised $241,804, and the monies benefited more than 223,000 people in the region served by those organizations, the charities reported. This year, 113 groups have again enrolled to participate in the Upstate New York Empowerment Fund “tickets for charity” program. The participating groups are diverse in purpose and are spread throughout Upstate New York across eight different counties.

The fund-raising is supported by the Oneida Indian Nation, and is highly unique due to the 100% return on efforts, noted Ray Halbritter, chair of the Upstate New York Empowerment Fund and Nation Representative and CEO of the Oneida Nation. Groups members and volunteers sell tickets to the Championship event, turn in ticket orders with collected cash and return tickets to the buyers. After the tournament, checks for 100% of the face value of all tickets sold by each group is returned to that group for their use in serving their constituents however they choose.

In 2007, the initial year of the effort, the top selling group was the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of Central New York, Inc., which raised and received back $25,312. Other top earning groups for 2007 were: Golisano Children’s Hospital, Upstate University ($9,230); Rome Catholic School ($8,155); Rescue Mission of Syracuse ($6,640); Crouse Health Foundation, Crouse Hospital ($6,355); Positively Pink Packages ($6,190); St. Lucy’s Church ($5,875); Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum ($5,665); Clinton Swim Club ($5,455); and American Cancer Society, E. Syracuse ($5,340).

In 2007, 14 organizations earned back more than $5,000 apiece; 28 groups raised more than $3,000 apiece, and 64 organizations topped $1,000 each for their efforts.

The geographic composition of 2008’s participating organizations has widened to eight different counties in the Upstate New York region. This year, there is one group from Cayuga County; three groups from Cortland County; one from Herkimer County; four from Madison County; one from Monroe County; 46 from Oneida County; 55 from Onondaga County; and two organizations from Oswego County participating.

The enrollment period for this year’s program has ended.

Participating organizations for 2008 are:

Abraham House

American Cancer Society

American Diabetes Association

American Red Cross, Cortland County Chapter  --

ARC, Oneida-Lewis Chapter-Friends of the ARC Foundation

Auxiliary to Community General Hospital

Baldwinsville Pop Warner Little Scholars Inc.  315-461-6108

Believers Chapel Upwards Ministry

Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High School

Bishop Kearney High School

Boy Scouts of America - Troop 62 - Tully

Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse

Building Futures Foundation

Camp Good Days & Special Times

Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY  315-672-5288

Cathedral Emergency Services

Catholic Charities of Oswego County  315-593-8440

Cayuga County Arts Council

Central Association for the Blind, Inc.

Central New York Challenged Champions Fund  315-476-9697

Central New York Labor Agency  315-735-6101

Chadwick Residence Incorporated  315-487-0210

Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum

Church of the Holy Family

Clinton Swim Club

Constable Hall Association

Cornhill Community for Change  315-507-2656

Cortland Memorial Foundation, Inc.

Crouse Health Foundation, Inc.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Down Syndrome Association of Central New York, Inc.  315-682-4289

Eastwood Rotary Foundation

Eldercare Foundation

Elmcrest Childrens Center

Erie Canal Museum

Everest Foundation  315-382-1703

Everson Museum of Art

Family Advocacy Center, Inc.

Family Services of the Mohawk Valley, Inc.

Faxton-St. Lukes Healthcare Foundation-Childrens Miracle Network

FM-JD Meals on Wheels  315-637-5446

Franciscan Collaborative Ministries

From the Ground Up Therapeutic Horsemanship, Inc.

Genesis Group, The

Golisano Childrens Hospital

Habitat for Humanity (Oneida Co.)

Hiawatha Seaway Council

Historic Old St. Johns Charity Outreach  315-724-6159

Holland Patent Chapter NSDAR  315-896-2174

Hope for Bereaved Inc.

House of the Good Shepherd, The

Its About Childhood & Family, Inc.

Jewish Community Federation of the Mohawk Valley

Junior Achievement of CNY, Inc.

KARE Foundation

Kids Oneida Inc.

Kirkland Art Center

Kirkland Town Library

Leatherstocking Ballet

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York

Meals on Wheels of Syracuse

Mental Health Association of Onondaga County

Mercy Works, Inc.

Mid-York Child Care Coordinating Council, Inc.

Mohawk Valley Chapter, SPEBSQSA, Inc.

Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency, Inc.

Mohawk Valley Perinatal Network, Inc.

Multiple Sclerosis Resources of Central New York, Inc.

North Area Meals on Wheels, Inc. (partners with Meals on Wheels of Syracuse)

North Utica Senior Citizens Community Center, Inc.

Onondaga County Chapter, SPEBSQSA, Inc.

Our Lady of Lourdes School

Parkway Senior Center

Person to Person

Positively Pink Packages

Presbyterian Homes Foundation, Inc.

Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse

Rome Baseball Association, Inc.

Rome Catholic School

Rome Community Concert Band, Inc.

Rome Memorial Hospital Foundation

Rome Sports Hall of Fame

Rome Youth Hockey Association

Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY

Salvation Army of the Syracuse Area, The

Sauquoit Valley Foundation

Southside Interfaith Community Development Corporation  315-428-1851

St. Elizabeth Medical Center Foundation

St. John the Evangelist Church

St. Josephs Hospital Health Center Foundation

St. Louis Gonzaga Church  315-732-6019

St. Lucys Church

St. Marys School

Stone Presbyterian Church  315-853-6603

Sullivan Free Library

Sunset Neighborhood, Inc.

SUNY College of ESF, The Alumni Association of

Syracuse Community Health Center, Inc.

Syracuse Habitat for Humanity, Inc.

Syracuse Jewish Family Service, Inc.

Syracuse Lions Club Charity Fund, Inc.  315-451-8488

Syracuse Northeast Community Center

Syracuse Youth Golf/The First Tee of Syracuse, Inc.  315-443-2722

Thea Bowman House, Inc.  315-797-0748

Transitional Living Services

United Cerebral Palsy & Handicapped Childrens Association of Syracuse Inc. (Enable)

United Way of Greater Oswego County

Utica Zoological Society, Inc.

Valley Health Services, Inc.

Wanderers Rest Humane Association

YMCA of Greater Syracuse

YMCA of the Greater Tri-Valley

YWCA of Cortland