This event has passed.

My Impact on my Community

About five years ago, I started donating to Phoenix Children’s.

My decision to give was for many reasons: My wife was a child psychologist at B.C. Children’s Hospital for 25 years, and I learned what it takes to support sick children and their families medically, psychologically and emotionally.

Seeing this first-hand, I knew that I wanted to make an impact in my new community. My wife and I had the opportunity to take a tour of Phoenix Children's and saw the innovative work that is being done here for the children and families of the metropolitan area of Phoenix and beyond. Last year, we attended Power Play, a fundraising and awareness event for Phoenix Children's.

The event centered around children who either had been treated, or were still in treatment, for various types of pediatric cancer. Ten children took part in a fashion show with a super hero theme. Their costumes were created by ASU students in the Fashion and Design program in collaboration with each child who had been individually paired with an ASU student.

To observe the joys and successes of their treatment to date was heartwarming, providing a glimpse into the emotional journey each had endured through videos highlighting their story. Today, about 85% of childhood cancer can be cured — but rarely without life-altering consequences for all involved. It takes a great deal of resources to provide state-of-the-art life-saving care.

Two years ago, friends of ours sold their home here and offered me the approximately 7,000 golf balls they had found each evening on their walks over 12 years near the golf course bordering their property. My initial reaction was to sell the balls and keep the money — but after reflecting, I realized that the gift of these golf balls needed to have a higher purpose.

That is when I started selling used golf balls and donating the full amount of the proceeds to Phoenix Children’s. In 2021, I donated over $2,000. This year it will be closer to $7,500. My ultimate goal is to reach $10,000 as soon as possible.

This has turned into both a hobby and a passion, and I am happy to be able to help ease some of the distress sick children and their families endure.

I want to thank not only the residents of Sun City Grand for buying the golf balls, but the many residents, from other communities as well as ours, who have also donated golf balls to me they had collected. In October, upon my return I was greeted at my house by containers of over 6,000 balls, which I cleaned and then sold at our Grand Spring Garage Sale. I continue to receive calls donating golf balls or wanting to buy golf balls, and I am extremely appreciative of others’ generosity to this cause.

Please join us on March 9th for a sale of the golf balls I've collected or if you are unable to join, consider making a donation to Phoenix Children's.

If you are interested in donating golf balls for the sale, please complete the form below or contact Michael Kolsky at: 360-220-2917

Donate to Phoenix Children's