Natasha Paterson golf tournament raises $8,000 for local charities

Written By Brian Lockhart

The day dawned sunny and bright – and it was a good day for golf.

The first Natasha Paterson Memorial Golf Tournament got underway at the Dunadel Golf Course near Dundalk on Sunday, July 25, fundraising over $8,000. 

Thirty-six golfers signed up to play 18 holes, support a good cause, and have fun while doing it.

This was the first time organizers held a golf tournament.

In the past, Natasha's life was celebrated with a car show in Shelburne. However, it had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic, and due to the current uncertainty of whether that type of event could even be held this year, it was decided to go with a golf tournament instead.

The event also had a 50 / 50 draw, a silent auction, and a cooler filled with $200 in Canadian Tire money that was donated by the store and was raffled off to a lucky winner who could go on a shopping spree.

“We don't know if the golf tournament will replace the car show, it's too early to tell,” explained organizer and Natasha's mom Teresa Paterson. “This is how we're keeping Natasha's memory alive. The golf tournament is what we were able to do due to restrictions. Being able to do the car show in the park was a beautiful thing, we just weren't able to do it this year with the restrictions.”

The car show was a big undertaking that took several months of pre-planning in a regular year, notifying car owner about the event and requesting that they come out to show off their rides.

The golf tournament raised funds for two worthy charities – the local Feral Cat Rescue and Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Dufferin County and District. 

They chose these two charities because they believe both of them do valuable work in the community.

With the more than $8,000 raised at the golf tournament, the total amount of money raised through all the Natasha Paterson Memorial events is roughly $44,000.

Some of the golfers in the tournament play only once or twice a year, but the tournament is about having fun and raising money, so your level of skill really didn't matter.

At the end of the day, the tournament raised funds for good causes and provided a mid-summer day of golf and fun.