A record number of golfers turned out this week for the Connecticut Education Foundation’s 30th annual Hands Across the Green Golf Tournament at Glastonbury Hills Country Club. While enjoying a round of golf, great food and drink, and a chance to win fun raffle prizes, participants also raised money for a great cause.
Hands Across the Green is a fundraiser for CEF’s Children Fund, which assists students in Connecticut’s public schools who need basics such as clothing, food, medicine, and more. CEA members can request money from the fund when they have a student in need.
“I want to thank everyone who came out for our 30th annual golf tournament,” says CEF President and CEA Vice President Joslyn DeLancey. “We had members who showed up who’ve been to every single golf tournament, which is a testament to the work of the foundation and the family and community aspect of our association—as well as everything that we do to support our students and public education. We really had one of the best tournaments that we’ve ever had this year. We had more than 210 golfers, which is a record number of players. We also had patrons come just to hang out and have a good time and celebrate with us.”
CEA President Kate Dias and CEF President and CEA VP Joslyn DeLancey pose in front of the new Hands Across the Green banner.
“Across the board it’s just a great day. It’s a lot of fun, and it supports such a good cause,” says Matthew Zabroski, a Glastonbury special education teacher who has played in the tournament almost every summer for the past decade.
The Glastonbury Education Association had a record four foursomes play in the tournament this year due to recruitment efforts and association support for the players and the cause. The GEA reached out to members who play golf, inviting them to attend, and supported players by covering part of their cost to play—which supports children in need.
“I’ve used the Children’s Fund to get supplies for students whose families are experiencing financial difficulties,” Zabroski says. “Glastonbury is a pretty affluent community, we don’t think so much of the need here, but I had a kid in high school who desperately needed a TI-81 graphing calculator and the family was going through some tough times. I sent an email with a request to use the Fund and had the calculator in under a week. It’s just such a fantastic thing for the kids.”
Many players, like Zabroski, come back year after year, but there are many newcomers each year as well.
Suffield physical education teacher Sarah Marino got a call from her local president Mark Janick earlier this month encouraging her to join his foursome at the CEF tournament.
“I’m young, and I thought that it sounded like a great opportunity to hang out with fellow teachers from my district and meet other teachers along the way. It’s really important when you have a break, like over the summer, to meet other people and find that camaraderie. I’m glad Mark asked me to come because I’m having a great time.”
Marino and Janick’s foursome included two other Suffield PE teachers, and even though Marino knew the others from their monthly department meetings, she said it was great to be able to hang out with them in a different setting.
“I don’t work in the same school as they do, so it’s really nice to be able to create friendships beyond the work side of things. Now we have something to connect us.”
DeLancey extends a sincere thank you to the event’s sponsors who make the day of fun and relaxation possible.
“This event allows us not only to raise money for an incredibly important cause; it also allows teachers who don’t always have access to special days, like golf tournaments, to have a fun day where we really work to make sure they’re taken care of.”
DeLancey continued, “I want to extend a shout out to Chip Karkos who has made sure that this event has run smoothly and gone above and beyond every year so that players have the best time and that we earn as much money as we can for the Children’s Fund to support our students.”
Karkos, CEA’s production technician, has been a key organizer for the entire life of the 30-year tournament. While he prefers to operate behind the scenes, participants gave him a loud round of applause when DeLancey recognized him at the dinner following the tournament.
