Post-Storm and Event Updates
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
We write to you today with both sadness and pride in the aftermath of last week’s storm. Our hearts go out to everyone in our community who suffered so much damage, yet we can't help but feel a sense of pride in the way everyone has come together to help one another. The outpouring of assistance has been incredible, and it's inspiring to see what has been accomplished in just six days. We realize there is still much to do but have complete faith that, by working together, we will get there!
At the Foundation, we have been working hard to ensure that our kids—who have also been traumatized by the events of last week—can get back to normalcy as quickly as possible. Many of the facilities where our programs are held sustained damage, and many of the people who help us run those programs also suffered personal losses at their homes. We are forever indebted to everyone involved who has continued to make our kids a priority.
Despite the damage at the Riverside Park Tennis Facility, we were able to get a few courts ready and resume our program over the weekend. As of this week, we are back on schedule with our weeknight clinics. The farm where we hold our equine program, which serves many of the homeless children in town, sustained extensive damage, flooding, and loss of power, but we were able to get the kids back out in the stalls and helping with the horses Monday after school. Additionally, our golf program had the largest turnout ever Monday night! Seeing our kids back out there having fun and being with their friends is heartwarming, and we will continue to send updates as we make progress at our other sites.
With that said, the damage at Quail Valley River Club and many of the surrounding streets and communities along A1A is some of the worst in our town. Given this, we feel it would be best to postpone our Mahjong Event, which was scheduled for Wednesday, October 23rd, at the River Club, so we can focus our energy on helping with more critical recovery efforts in those areas. For those of you who have already registered and paid, please reach out to us at info@mffkids.org if you would like a refund until a new date is solidified. We hope to have this exciting event back on the calendar soon, so stay tuned!
While we feel the need to postpone the Mahjong Event, we believe that by next month, many will be ready to welcome more fun and normalcy back into their lives. Barring any other disasters, we plan to move forward with our Second Annual Fundraising Fishing Tournament on Saturday, November 9th. Tournament details and registration information can be found here. Don't miss this terrific day of fun, fishing, friends, and prizes. 100% of the registration fees support our kids!
Fishing Tournament - Register Here
Additionally, for all our Fish Fan tennis players, we encourage you to register and play in the M&M Classic Tennis Tournament, which will be held at the Boulevard on Saturday, November 16th, starting at 8:30 AM.
Thank you, Meg and Mike Hickey of M&M Realty, for hosting this great event and donating the proceeds to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation. We are forever grateful for your continued support!
Stay strong, support your neighbors, and show kindness as we rebuild. Together, we will get through this too.
Best regards,
All of us at the Foundation