Ball Drops On Great Initiative To Raise Money For Charity

The Nanaimo Golf Club hosted the Rotary Club of Nanaimo North’s “Great Golf Ball Drop”...

Four thousand balls hit just one green at Nanaimo Golf Club and it was not from a lot of golfers.

The balls were actually part of a charity drive that saw people “purchase” a numbered ball for $5 each. The balls were dropped simultaneously on the Club’s practice green using a fire truck ladder.

There were three holes with pins numbered one to three and the ball coming to rest either in or closest to the #1 numbered hole took first prize and $2,000. Second place won $1,000 and third place won $500.

With a late sales blitz, all 4,000 tickets were sold before March 27, 2021, and the maximum possible $20,000 was raised for Nanaimo youth programs.

This fundraiser event is not a first for Rotary Clubs, with the Rotary Club of West Shore raising $20,000 at their Great Golf Ball Drop fundraiser. In fall 2020 at Olympic View Golf Club, 3,954 tickets out of a possible 4,000 were purchased for a south island event.

An event like this takes more coordination and work than you might think. Kudos have to go to the organizers and the hand-cramped volunteers who numbered each ball with a Sharpie.

On their Facebook page, the rotary club commented on the strong support, “Thank you to everyone who purchased a golf ball, the support was fantastic.”

Congratulations to the winners:

1st Prize ($2,000) – Bob Bennie
2nd Prize ($1,000) – Denise Montgomery
3rd Prize ($500) – Jeff Middleweiss

Dave Miles took an Early Bird prize that included a round of golf for four at the Nanaimo Golf Club, a round of golf at Cottonwood Golf Club, a $50 certificate from Golf West, and two $25 certificates from Carlos O’Bryan’s!

Watch a video of the ball drop here.