Windber's Tee It Up fundraiser raises $10K for veterans

Dec. 5--More than 160 golfers, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, and sponsors, including Hindman Funeral Homes & Crematory Inc., combined to raise $14,068 to benefit local veterans in need over Columbus Day weekend.

Earlier this week, representatives of Windber Country Club, which hosted the ninth annual Tee It Up for a Wounded Veteran golf outing, presented $10,000 to Veteran Community Initiatives, which assists former military personnel in a 14-county region that includes Cambria, Somerset and Bedford.

The rest goes to the Michael J. Novosel Foundation, a nonprofit in Allegheny County that helps veterans through financial assistance, such as paying bills for rent, mortgage, insurance, medical care and groceries. The foundation picks one specific individual every year to assist with funds from the event.

"We've always viewed our role -- I think -- as to just be volunteers to help veterans causes and support organizations like VCI and Novosel who do this year-round," said Dennis Brawley, a volunteer who helps host Tee It Up for a Wounded Veteran. "We do this for three days. They do it for 365 days a year."

Scott Dunlap, Windber Country Club's vice president, said what keeps the event "popular and sustainable" is that it benefits the community directly.

"We're trying to help people here, around our local area. ... That's always our goal -- to get someone from the Johnstown area," Dunlap said.

VCI will use the money for its Rural Veteran Outreach Program and Veteran Assistance Care Program for COVID-19 relief.

"For us, it's a life-saving effort because we rely solely on donations and a few small grants," VCI Director Tom Caulfield said. "To get a donation like this, especially the size of this, it really helps us perform our mission -- that's to help fellow veterans. And, right now, along with everyone else, veterans are having some difficult times."

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