BCH Golf Classic Nov. 6 at Rock Creek to Help Alabama Foster Children Find Homes
The Children's Aid Society of Alabama will hold its sixth annual BCH Golf Classic on Nov. 6 at Rock Creek Golf Club in Fairhope, with proceeds supporting its adoption program for children in foster care.
Golfers and sponsors will gather at Rock Creek Golf Club in Fairhope on Friday, Nov. 6, for the sixth annual BCH Golf Classic, a fundraiser for Alabama children and families affected by adoption and foster care. The Children’s Aid Society of Alabama is hosting the tournament. Proceeds will support the organization’s Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections program, known as APAC, which recruits and prepares families to adopt children in Alabama’s foster care system who are waiting for permanent homes.
The tournament falls during National Adoption Awareness Month, observed each November to draw attention to children in foster care who are waiting for adoptive families.
Tournament Details
- Event: Sixth annual BCH Golf Classic
- Date: Friday, Nov. 6
- Location: Rock Creek Golf Club, 140 Clubhouse Dr., Fairhope
- Check-in and biscuit breakfast: 7 a.m.
- Tee time: 8 a.m.
- Format: 18 holes. Register as an individual or as a four-person team
- Also included: Lunch, contests and prizes
- Featured contest: Putting Green Contest with a chance to win $5,000
- Golf and sponsorship cost: $150 to $600
- Beneficiary: Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections (APAC), a program of the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama
A Day on the Course
The day starts early. Check-in and a biscuit breakfast begin at 7 a.m., and the tee time is 8 a.m. Players can sign up on their own or bring a four-person team for 18 holes at Rock Creek, one of the Eastern Shore’s established golf courses.
Lunch, contests and prizes are planned after the round. The main attraction is a Putting Green Contest, where one well-struck putt could win $5,000. Golf and sponsorship packages range from $150 to $600, so individual players, groups of friends and businesses can all find a way to take part.
Bring a Suitcase for Foster Youth
Participants are also asked to bring a new or gently used suitcase for a donation drive benefiting young people in foster care.
The request addresses a familiar problem in foster care. Children who enter care or move between placements often have little time to pack and nothing to pack in. Child welfare advocates have long pointed out that many of these children end up carrying their belongings in trash bags. A suitcase of their own gives a child somewhere to keep their things and a small measure of dignity during a hard transition.
What APAC Does
Money raised at the tournament will support Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections. The APAC program works to recruit and prepare loving families to adopt Alabama children who are in foster care and waiting for permanent homes. Organizers say the tournament will help pay for those efforts.
Many children waiting in foster care are older children, sibling groups who want to stay together, or children with special needs. Finding and preparing families for these children takes outreach, training and support, before an adoption and after it.
More Than a Century of Service
The Children’s Aid Society of Alabama has served children, teens and families across the state since 1912. The golf classic is one way the organization raises money and awareness for its adoption work, and it brings golfers, local businesses and supporters together for a cause that affects families in every part of Alabama.
Ways to Get Involved
You don’t have to play golf to help. Organizers have described several ways to support the event:
- Play: Register as an individual golfer or put together a four-person team.
- Sponsor: Sponsorships are available for businesses of all sizes, including hole sponsorships.
- Donate to the silent auction: Businesses and individuals can contribute items or experiences for the auction.
- Bring a suitcase: New or gently used suitcases will go to youth in foster care.
- Cheer on players: Supporters are welcome to come out and encourage the golfers.
Why National Adoption Awareness Month Matters
National Adoption Awareness Month is observed every November. It highlights the children in foster care whose parental rights have been terminated and who are waiting to be adopted, and it encourages communities to think about how they can help, whether by adopting, fostering, mentoring or supporting the organizations that serve these families.
Holding the golf classic in November ties the tournament to that larger effort. Organizers hope that by the time golfers finish the round, more people in Baldwin County will know about the children waiting for families and the work being done to find them homes.
Considering Adoption or Foster Care?
Alabama residents interested in fostering or adopting a child from foster care can start by contacting the Alabama Department of Human Resources or a licensed child-placing agency. Agencies such as the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama can explain the training, home study and support involved.
The sixth annual BCH Golf Classic tees off at 8 a.m. Nov. 6 at Rock Creek Golf Club, 140 Clubhouse Dr., Fairhope.
