If not for the financial and emotional support of many people in his past, Patrick Sullivan said he would have never lived his dream of playing NCAA hockey.
In the years after a knee injury ended his career, Sullivan decided he wanted to give back.
On Thursday, July 21, the 28-year-old golf pro will host the Okanagan Charity Classic golf tournament at Black Mountain Golf Club.
NHL players Shea Weber, Justin Schultz, Blake Comeau and Cody Franson will be among the cast of celebrities who will play in the second annual fundraiser.
Proceeds from this year's event will be used to help underprivileged children in the community pursue their dreams, as well as the Bell Let's Talk program.
"I didn't have much when I was young and people really helped me get me to where I am today," said Sullivan, founder of the Okanagan Charity Classic. "This is my way of paying it forward."
After raising more than $12,000 in last year's inaugural event, Sullivan hopes this year's tournament will generate as much as twice the funds.
One beneficiary of Sullivan's charity event is Blake Kingswood, a 20-year-old UBC Okanagan student who had his brand new golf clubs stolen from his car.
Symathetic to Kingswood's plight and the financial constraints post-secondary students often face, Sullivan and the OCC stepped forward with a new set of clubs for Kingswood.
“The Okanagan Charity Classic came to light as a fun way to bring the local community together to help those in need, and some causes that are really close to my heart,” said Sullivan. “When I heard about what had happened to Blake, knowing how hard he had worked to purchase those clubs, I knew that this was a perfect cause to give back to someone who had worked so hard”.
“It means so much to me,” said Kingswood. "All of the guys that work here (Black Mountain Golf Course) knew that I had worked extremely hard to buy new clubs, and Patrick took it upon himself to go out of his way and help me out.”
For more information about the Okanagan Charity Classic or how to make donations, call 250-317-2651 or visit www.okanagancharityclassic.com