COTO DE CAZA – J.T. Rees was the first one at the hole after a helicopter dropped 500 golf balls on Monday just before the start of the 2nd annual NEGU (Never Ever Give Up) Classic, a golf charity event to benefit the Jessie Rees Foundation.
It was ball No. 461 that the 10-year-old brother of Jessie Rees plucked from the hole. That meant that the Vazquez family from Culver City whose daughter Madeleine is fighting brain cancer would get the prize.
The group, founded by Jessie Rees in 2011, hopes to carry on Jessie’s mission and take the message of “Never Ever Give Up” to every child and family fighting cancer. Jessie, 12, of Rancho Santa Margarita, died in January after fighting a 10-month battle with brain cancer. During that time Jessie reached out to other children with cancer and tried to make their lives more joyful by creating Joy Jars. Jessie inspired tens of thousands of Facebook fans around the world. She turned her illness into a chance to rally for other kids with cancer.
Since then, the foundation has created Joy Jars in the ‘Joy Factory’ in Rancho. The group hopes to raise enough money to create 20,000 holiday Joy Jars that will be delivered to kids fighting cancer in 160 children’s hospitals and 175 Ronald McDonald houses across the nation this December.
In the Marriott-sponsored NEGU ball drop contest, each ball was tagged with a number that corresponded to a family whose child was fighting cancer. The prize for the Vazquez family included an overnight stay at a Marriott hotel, a flat screen TV for the father, a manicure and pedicure for the mother, a housecleaning and plenty of Joy Jar fun stuff for Madeleine and her siblings.
In all 208 golfers played in the charity golf tournament held at the Coto De Caza Golf & Racquet Club. About 250 attended the dinner including a silent auction. Event organizers by midday Monday said they had exceeded the $100,000 they hoped to raise. All of the proceeds from the event will go to fund Joy Jars which are stuffed with age-appropriate fun stuff and distributed to children in hospitals nationwide. The classic was sponsored by the United Parcel Service and Life Technologies Corporation.
“We are honored so many people are supporting us in our efforts to help children fighting cancer,” Erik Rees, Jessie’s father said. “We had 50 percent more people who came out then last year.”
By ERIKA I. RITCHIE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER