Golf Classic Raises $100,000!
June 28th, 2023 | Events | News
It was a beautiful day from start to finish at the Beloit Club for the 27th Anniversary Rock Valley Golf Classic. At RMHC-Madison, family is at the heart of everything that we do. The Beloit, Janesville and Rockford communities are a family to all of us and this golf outing put that on full display. It was also the perfect backdrop to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Care Mobile for the medical care it provides to hundreds of children in these communities each year.
Through the continued and unwavering generosity of this community, the event raised $100,000 for the second year in a row. We are simply blown away!
Two dozen golf foursomes – some who have golfed since the inception of the event – enjoyed 18 holes of golf and capped off their day with a wonderful program featuring a local guest family, The Kruegers—Jenni (mother), Bob (father) and three of their amazing children, Cora, Cayden and Casie were able to join everyone. This family’s path crossed with the Ronald McDonald House 10 years ago, but the early delivery of their daughter was only the first medical crisis their children would face.
Jenni, was 34 weeks pregnant with their daughter, Cora, and needed to have an emergency c-section at Beloit Memorial Hospital. Despite her early arrival, Cora was a 7 lb. 8 oz. preemie and was doing great for the first 36 hours of her life.
Then everything changed. Cora started to experience apnea and turned purple when the decision was made to transfer her to Meriter’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Madison—some of the scariest words a parent could hear.
Once they arrived at the hospital, Jenni and Bob met with so many doctors and recall someone telling them, “We’re going to have you stay at the Ronald McDonald House.” Jenni remembered thinking to herself, “My baby girl isn’t that sick, is she?” They didn’t want to leave Cora, but knew they needed the rest. Little did they know that the House would provide that and so much more to their family over the next decade. When they walked through the doors of the House that evening Jenni shared, “We finally felt like we could smile.”
The Kruegers have three other children. Cayden, who was three at the time when Cora was in the hospital, came to stay at the House on multiple occasions and loved the playroom and playground outside. Six years later, Cayden was diagnosed with ITP (immune thrombocytopenia – a type of platelet disorder) and they found themselves utilizing the House for not one, but two children. Despite all this Jenni shared, “When we felt that life may have given us more than we could handle, we found a place to call home at the Ronald McDonald House.”
The golfers rallied their support by lifting their paddles high to help more families like the Kruegers. And Jenni addressed the crowd perfectly saying, “You changed families’ lives today. Thank you for helping to keep families like mine close.”
We also want to thank the Golf Committee – Kyle Mair, Chuck Elliott, Steve Neas, Ethan Dahlberg, Mark Gregory, Jennifer Johns, Linda Kamppi, Bobby Kennedy and Sarah Klawitter, and – with a very special thanks to Bill Kennedy as master of ceremonies. This group went above and beyond to tee this event up for success.