A Red Deer man raised money so he could donate golf clubs and passes to three young children in the city.
Nelson Lacourse, owner of Nelson Lacourse Professional Corporation, felt inspired to give back to his community during the Masters Tournament, a major professional golf championship event held earlier this month.
“With the timing of the Masters, it’s the start of spring. It’s just a very optimistic time of the year,” said Lacourse.
“Given what’s going on right now, golf seems to be one of the only activities you can do. It’s a lifelong sport and something I enjoy a lot for many reasons. I felt like it would be good to introduce some new people to the game.”
Lacourse, a chartered accountant, temporarily turned his company’s logo green online and began selling hats online with the purpose of raising money to donate golf clubs and passes.
“I sold out of hats within about two hours,” Lacourse said, adding friends, clients and family had all donated.
“I thought if I raised enough to just get one kid some clubs and a pass that would be great. I ended up getting enough money to get three kids clubs and passes.”
The golf passes are for the Riverbend Golf Course.
Lacourse then got in touch with St. Teresa of Avila School and found three students who were interested in golfing.
He was able to go to the school Friday and deliver the clubs to two sisters, in Grades 4 and 2, and another boy in Grade 4. Though he wasn’t able to see the children smile due to masks, he was happy to see their excitement upon receiving the clubs.
“I’ve already had some people reach out saying they’d love to support it next year too. I think we’ll just kind of play it by ear. It might be an annual thing or maybe it will be a one-off and potentially encourage other people to do things like this,” he said.
“I feel like in some ways I gained more out of this experience than the kids. They got the clubs and the passes, but I got the opportunity to reconnect with a bunch of people and do something for my community.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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