While Colorado has the fifth lowest overall rate for cancer in the U.S., each year, roughly 240,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer, with 2,100 of them being men, says the CDC.
To join forces in helping those who wear the pink ribbon, Scot Somes -Founder/Director Colorado Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation – created an event dedicated to providing financial support to those with breast cancer- and he’s doing it in a fun way.
T-Off 4 Tatas charity golf event presented by Mager Law Group isn’t just about gathering funds for financial assistance. According to Somes, it’s also about “community.”
“I love golf. There’s a lot of people that love golf,” says Somes to #ImFromDenver “You don’t have to know how to play golf; you just have to know how to have fun.”
Somes spent 36 years as a Captain in the United States Navy; while he’s tough as nails, he and his darling wife Christina would face a challenge they were more than willing to tackle together. Christina was diagnosed 5 ½ years ago with breast cancer – a fate Somes says wasn’t a matter of “if she’ll get through it but when.”
“We’ll be married for 13 years in August; the date of last year’s tournament was on our anniversary,” says Somes.
The duo got the idea to start a charity after attempts to enter into a bike ride aimed to help the Young Survivors Coalition. Unbeknownst to them, they would have to raise $6,000 a piece to participate.
“She said how are we going to do that? I said, ‘Let me think about it.'” Says Somes, “A few hours later, I said, ‘We’re going to put on a golf tournament.’ She asked have I ever done that, and I said no, but I’m a captain in the United States Navy, and I’m going to figure it out.”
And to no surprise, the former Navy Captain figured it out while finding a way to keep the event tailored explicitly to Colorado.
“You have to be a Colorado resident to get any money from the charity,” says Somes. “Half the golfers playing this year are women, and 10 of them are survivors.”
Last year they had two additional golf events that helped raise more than $20,000. Somes and his wife didn’t do those events; they were done by the Broomfield Police Department and Pioneer Sand and Gravel, who wanted to donate money to their cause.
“We had six other companies during October (breast cancer awareness month) that said they were doing something for breast cancer and want to donate money to your cause,” says Somes
Somes put on a Pickleball Tournament earlier this year and plan to do another. He hopes to create an event per quarter and plans to make a ProAm tournament with professionals and celebrities.
“This year alone, we’ve written $40,000 in checks to women who need financial assistance. Overall it’s probably been about $100,000 that we’ve been able to help women. I love being able to look at someone who’s saying ‘I need some help,’ evaluate it, and write them a check. Just being able to help in some way, for them to get over a hurdle, means a lot.”
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