Charity golf tournament to benefit local food bank

IU freshman Jeremy Rosenthal wanted to raise money for charity in a different way this year, so he chose to coordinate a golf tournament.\n“Drive for Hoosier Hills” will be held at noon Sunday at the IU Golf Course. \nThe tournament will raise money for Hoosier Hills Food Bank, a local hunger-relief organization.\nRosenthal, director of philanthropy for Foster Student Government, coordinated and raised funds for the event. Rosenthal said that he hopes to donate $500 to Hoosier Hills Food Bank.\nThere are 20 golfers, paired in teams of two, registered for the tournament. Fees of $30 per person will make up the majority of the donation to Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which supports more than 80 organizations in six surrounding counties, said Julio Alonso, executive director of Hoosier Hills Food Bank.\n“That’s terrific, we’re always very appreciative when a group or individual gets something together to support us,” said Alonso. “There’s no way we’d be able to do what we do to donate money or food without support from the community, so we really appreciate people raising money on our behalf.”\nOther funds collected by Rosenthal were $200 from the Residence Halls Association and $800 from Foster Student Government specifically to pay for the tournament costs, which includes T-shirts for participants, 18 holes of golf, cart rental and prizes for the winners. \nRosenthal wished to donate more money to Hoosier Hills Food Bank, but restrictions were made on the money granted to him by RHA, since the money originated from student activity fees.\n“It’s been policy for many years: We only use money for projects students can benefit from or events that students can participate in,” said RHA president Matt Jarson.\nHowever, there will be an opportunity for the money donated to grow. Hoosier Hills Food Bank is currently participating in the Feinstein Challenge, a competition sponsored by the Feinstein Foundation, a national organization that is proportionally matching funds and food collected by agencies nationwide, Jarson said.\nRosenthal said he has been in charge of running blood drives at Foster Quad this year and he was trying to come up with something different for students to participate in that could still benefit a local charity. \n“It’s great to be able to benefit a local organization,” he said. “I really feel that we’re stepping out of IU and the campus to really benefit and help a local organization in the community, and I think that’s important.”