Final strokes fore hopes surpasses
$1 million mark

Edward Goodfellow, Ken Collins & Andrew Fazackerley, 

At 10AM on June 25 two weary young men, Edward Goodfellow and Andrew Fazackerley, putted their final Strokes Fore Hopes at hole #18 at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona while onlookers applauded their efforts. These putts brought to a close their third annual golf marathon to raise funds for the Eastern Ontario Cancer Center at Kingston General Hospital.

The community once again rallied behind the two for the duration of their 24-hour, cart-free golfing marathon, which this year alone raised $55,000, bringing their three-year total to $105,000. Through a government initiative that matched donations nine to one, those dollars translated into a grand total of $1,050,000 towards capital improvements to the Cancer Centre

The event has landed the two on the cover of Flagstick magazine, the Ontario Golfing magazine and has made local heroes of them, a fact demonstrated at Thursday's 10AM tee-off, when close to 300 supporters came out to cheer them on.

While this was the last year for Strokes for Hopes, it was in no way the least. I spoke to Edward’s mother, Cathy Goodfellow, who along with countless other volunteers has put innumerable hours into organizing and running the event over its three-year history. She was thrilled with the turnout for this final year.

“It was definitely a very successful year and one that had its share of last-minute surprises,” she said.

One such surprise came in the form of a phone call Cathy received on Wednesday night prior to Thursday's tee off. “I got a call from Ken Collins who said he wanted to run something by me.”

That “something” was Ken's offer to match dollar for dollar whatever sum the community raised up to $50,000. Cathy continued, “I had to ask him to repeat himself to make sure that I had understood him correctly.”

$27,500 was raised in the 2010 Strokes For Hopes, and Ken Collins matching donation brought the total to $55,000.

Initially the goal of the event was to raise $1 million over three years and Cathy pointed out, “We would not have been able to do that without Ken's generous offer.”

Collins made the donation to support all of the cancer patients in the community but also to honour his niece, who passed away at the age of 35, leaving four children behind. When I spoke to Ken on the sidelines after the men made their final swings he said, “I'm just happy to be able to contribute.”

Back on the greens, Edward and Andrew, both visibly knackered but also elated, were receiving hugs, kisses and handshakes from their numerous supporters. When asked how it all went Edward replied, “It was great and the cause is a great one and as usual we got tremendous support from the community.”

Andrew said, “The weather is always a factor and this year it wasn't too bad. We definitely got soaked a couple of times and walked a pretty wet course but we both much prefer that to the extreme heat.”

Andrew also thanked the friends, supporters and junior golfers who took turns playing alongside the two young men throughout the night.

“It was absolutely awesome to play with them, especially the juniors because they are the future and hopefully they might be able to establish something similar of their own down the road,” he said.

Edward emphasized the finality of their last swings at the eighteenth hole. “This is definitely the final chapter of Strokes Fore Hopes for us. It's been a great part of our lives and we surely will miss it but this is definitely it.

“That being said, golf and giving back to the community are real passions for both of us - so you never know what might be in store for us...down the road.”