Charity Golf Tournament Bolsters NICWA's Advocacy
June 12, 2006
SAN JACINTO, CA – The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), a national organization dedicated to the wellbeing of Indian children and their families, was the recipient of $65,000 in donations after a charity golf tournament at the Soboba Springs Country Club, San Jacinto, California.
Sponsors of the event were the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, the Soboba Casino, and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. The tournament was an 18-hole, four-man "shamble" format. Special contests included a "marshmallow drive" contest, a sand trap contest, a putting contest, and a hole-in-one contest where the prize was a free two-year lease of a Mercedes-Benz sedan.
Players spent a day on the course and conversed with NICWA staff and board members about the state of Indian foster care programs and services that NICWA offers to tribal/urban Indian family programs. Golfers included former California governor Gray Davis and chairmen and elected officials from California Indian tribes.
"We are encouraged to see the generous response NICWA has received with this first annual fundraiser, and hope that our future golf tournaments can equal this event's enthusiasm and positive support for Indian child welfare," said Terry Cross, NICWA executive director.
NICWA evolved from the Northwest Indian Child Welfare Institute, which began over two decades ago. In 1983, the Northwest Indian Child Welfare Institute was developed in response to the need for trained Indian child welfare workers in both reservation- and urban-based Indian child welfare programs.
NICWA is a national nonprofit that and works on behalf of Indian children and families and the most comprehensive source of information on American Indian child welfare. NICWA provides public policy, research, advocacy, information, training, and community development services to a broad national audience: state child welfare agencies and other organizations, agencies, and professionals interested in the field of Indian child welfare. Their website is www.nicwa.org, or call 503/222-4044 for more information.