Hundreds of volunteers from Boca West Country Club participated in the First Annual Hope Week, January 23-February 5. Several local charities were recipients of the Boca West members time, including Boca West Chapter of The Pap Corps, Gilda Mallin Boca West Hadassah, Fuller Center, Habitat for Humanity South Palm Beach County, Place of Hope, Boca Helping Hands, Tri-County Animal Rescue and Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. A total of 243 members volunteered, donating over 8,000 hours.
“Boca West is dedicated to serving our local community and Hope Week gave our club members the opportunity to learn about a number of charitable organizations and make a difference,” said Matthew Linderman, CCM, President, COO and General Manager of Boca West Country Club. “Club members often ask how they can serve the local community around us and they were so gratified with this opportunity to participate in Hope Week.”
Each non-profit identified a unique member engagement opportunity so club members could become more familiar with each organization. For example, at Boca Helping Hands, club members packaged food in bags for the underserved. At Fuller Center, volunteers read to the children, then went outside with them to “Chalk the Walk.” The kids were encouraged to draw chalk creations on a nearby park’s sidewalk.
Volunteers knit hats and blankets for babies in the NICU at Hadassah Hospital and donated materials for get well cards. For Pap Corps, volunteers collected items and assembled them for Chemo Care Bags for Sylvester Cancer Center. Volunteers organized donated baby clothing and diapers for children and families in crisis and restocked the food pantry for families living at the Rinker Campus of Place of Hope. Members walked dogs and visited cats at Tri-County Animal Rescue and helped cancer patients paint tiles for the Wall of Hope at Lynn Cancer Institute. At Habitat for Humanity, members helped build homes and volunteered at the ReStores.
Board Chairman, Dr. Philip Edwards, Jeanine Banks, First Vice President and Hope Week Steering Committee Chairman, developed the concept for Hope Week, encompassing charities the Club partners with and supports.
Hope Week Steering Committee members included Boca West Country Club staff members Matthew Linderman, CCM President, COO & General Manager, John Collings, Assistant General Manager, Christina Guilianti, Director of Activities, Kathy Kohlhepp, Director of Communications & Marketing along with Boca West Children’s Foundation, Pamela Weinroth, Executive Director and Richard Zenker, Foundation Chairman and members Laurie Bernstein, Lisa Carlin, Linda Goldsmith and Robin Shulman and Janet D. Dymtrow, Lynn Cancer Institute/BRRH representative.