PRESS RELEASE
Azalea Charities presents $14,000 check to
Special Olympics Virginia to support
2011 World Games athletes and local programs
Haymarket, VA September 16, 2010 – Azalea Charities presented a check for $14,000 to Special Olympics Virginia, continuing a long tradition of support for this organization. $10,000 of these funds will go to send two local golfers, David Curtin and Grace Ann Braxton, to the Special Olympic World Summer Games to be held in Athens, Greece. Azalea Charities has put aside a portion of the proceeds from their Annual Azalea Classic Pro-Am Invitational for the past three years to send these athletes to the Games, and hopes to send a third Special Olympian with proceeds from the 2011 Pro-Am.
The Piedmont Club provided a spectacular setting as Frank Lasch, Chairman & Founder of Azalea Charities, Dean Morehouse, President of MTM Builder-Developer and the 2011 Azalea Classic Pro-Am Invitational Golf Committee presented the check to Roy Zeidman, Senior Vice President; Ellen Fitzgerald, Director of Development; and Danielle Pokusa, Director, Potomac Region of Special Olympics Virginia.
According to Roy Zeidman, “The funds provided by Azalea Charities gives our athletes opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities. Sometimes special moments of enlightenment, that I call ‘AHA’ moments, occur when our athletes do things that are unexpected and awaken the public’s awareness of their potential. A great example is Grace Ann Braxton, a Special Olympics golfer from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who recently scored a hole-in-one. She holds multiple gold medals and is ranked as the number one Special Olympics’ woman golfer.”
Dean Morehouse, an avid supporter of both Azalea Charities and the Special Olympics, comments “These events bring our world to their world and their world to our world. I’ve always viewed Special Olympics as a forgotten class of folks. They just want to get in the game and participate.”
Azalea Charities has supported Special Olympics from Arlington to Fredericksburg since 1999. The Azalea Classic pro-Am Invitational devotes one day to a clinic for Special Olympics and Boys and Girls Club athletes so they can learn the game of golf from participating professional golfers. Frank Lasch says, “Supporting Special Olympians is a way to fulfill Azalea Charities’ mission of aid to the community in a way that cuts across all social and economic layers. We find that working with Special Olympics is as fulfilling to our volunteers as it is to the kids.”
About Special Olympics Virginia
Special Olympics Virginia is a year-round program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. By using sport as a vehicle for social change, Special Olympics Virginia strives to create opportunities for meaningful interaction and self discovery for everyone. The organization’s goal is to open the heart and mind of every Virginian to the value and capabilities of persons with intellectual disabilities.
Azalea Charities supports Special Olympics programs in Northern Virginia that serve over 2,200 athletes in all of the communities of Arlington County, City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County (Area 26); Loudoun (Area 14); Prince William County (Area 23); Fredericksburg, Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, (Area 11).
About Azalea Charities
Azalea Charities is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization in Prince William County, Virginia. The organization is staffed entirely by volunteers who donate their time, talent and money. Azalea Charities raises funds for its community charities and Aid for Wounded Warriors through membership fees, private donations and sponsorship of Team Azalea Charities in the Marine Corps Marathon and the Azalea Classic Pro-Am Invitational Golf Classic, the organization’s keystone event held each May at the Piedmont Club. Beyond minimal expenses, all the funds they raise go to their charitable core causes.
For more information, contact:
Frank Lasch, Chairman, Azalea Charities, Inc.
703-670-5238, azaleacharities@aol.com