By CHRIS CHRISTOPHER
The first Tee Off for Mya, a charity golf event, will take place Aug. 10 at the Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune. A total of 100 percent of the net proceeds will go to The Mya Lin Terry Foundation, named for the Ocean Township resident who lost her five-year struggle on April 10, 2013, at the age of 10 to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Secondary AML. She suffered three relapses and received three stem cell transplants from three separate donors. She was a fifth-grade student at the Township of Ocean Intermediate School.
Space is limited to the first 120 paid golfers. Register by Aug. 5 to attend. The Hole-In-One Contest winner will drive off in a car. There will be closest to the pin, longest drive, closest to the line and putting competitions.
The event will begin at 11 a.m. with registration and a luncheon. There will be a shotgun start in a scramble format at 1 p.m. The dinner reception will begin at 6 p.m. Dinner only registration is available.
The event seeks donations and sponsors. There are sponsorships available for Friend of Mya ($100), hole ($150), ball ($300), longest drive ($300), closest to the pin ($300), hit the circle ($300), hole in one ($300), refreshment ($750), golf cart ($750), shirt ($3,000), luncheon ($3,000), dinner ($3,000) and event ($3,500).
Single golfer registration is $250. Golf foursome registration is $1,000. Dinner only registration is $80 per person.
All golf registration includes green and cart fees, a golfer kit, the uses of the driving range and putting green, on course refreshments, a barbecue luncheon, a cocktail reception with a raw bar and sushi display, a dinner buffet with a carving station and a two-hour open bar.
The event’s chairmen are Ken Pickett (732 687-9244), Brian Vivian (857-4998) and Rich VanWagner (609 575-9497).
A girls high school soccer match, known as the Mya Cup, at Ocean Township High School last fall between the Spartans and the Colts Neck Cougars raised more than $6,000, according to Kelly Lynn Terry, Mya Lyn Terry’s mother and an organizer of the golf and soccer events.
“With COVID-19 grossly affecting the Foundation’s ability to fundraise in support of our 159 families, we had to get creative and thankfully the Jumping Brook Country Club was immediately on board and in support,” Terry said. “We are taking a traditional golf outing and inserting social distancing measures to assure the safety of our donors without removing any of the fun. While we may be limited in the size of the event, we will not be limited in enjoyment and most of all resource generation for families battling pediatric cancer in our community. Just this week, we were apprised of a new pediatric brain cancer case in Mia’s home town.”
Terry said she hopes the event raises tens of thousands of dollars.
“We hope to raise $40,000 in order to provide critical financial support for our warrior children and their families who are suffering in our community,” she said.
Terry said sponsors are needed.
“There are various sponsorship opportunities,” she said. “Sponsors will receive hole signage, event signage, social media coverage and/or golf shirt recognition,” she said.
On the golf committee are Terry, Kasey Pickett, Carmela Tedesco, Anthony Vivian, Kimberly Vivian, Joe Appio and Christopher Vivian.
Other fundraising events are on tap.
The Mya Lin Terry Open, a tennis and social event, will take place Nov. 14. Mya’s Pocketbook Bingo is scheduled for Feb. 19. The Ocean Township Mayor’s Charity Ball will take place May 2.
The Foundation has gifted more than $390,000 in its five-year history, according to Terry.