About 88 golfers enjoyed a day on the links while helping to raise almost $500,000 for the Be an Angel to a Student Program of the diocesan Futures Foundation at the Annual Angels on the Fairway Golf Outing at The Creek in Lattington, L.I. on May 1.

Linda Busetti Photos 

Be an Angel pairs generous sponsors with low-income families who might otherwise not be able to afford a Catholic school education for their children. Every penny raised goes to students’ tuitions.

After Mass in the clubhouse dining room, which was celebrated by Msgr. John Bracken, Vicar General, and a hearty brunch, a caravan of golf carts moved out onto the fairways for the shotgun start.

Predicted rain held off and golfers set out to enjoy the day. Putting greens on some holes had views of Long Island Sound. Golfers Alessandra and Gianluca Corrias took turns trying to sink a putt. Others competed for the longest drive or closest to the pin honors. The four closest to the pin winners were entered in a hole-in-one shoot-out during the evening’s cocktail reception with a chance to win $1 million.

Golfers teed off over natural waterways, which wound through the course. A goose was seen wandering after one foursome. Cigar smoke and laughter were in the air. B.J. Duffy and friends stopped for hot dogs and hamburgers at a grill set up out on the course.

In the Island Green Scholarship Challenge, for $80, foursomes had the chance to tee off onto an island after the 11th hole. If three succeeded, each player received a prize. The fee went to the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund and was matched to support scholarships to Catholic schools.

That was what the day was all about – being Angels to ensure children get a Catholic school education.

After dinner, Msgr. Bracken thanked the Angels among them saying that through Futures in Education, Alive in Hope and other initiatives, the diocese had been able to provide in excess of $8 million in scholarship aid to poor families in the current academic year.

“You are Angels to these families and their children,” Msgr. Bracken said. “To all of us who are gifted by God, the challenge is to make a difference…Thank you for the difference that you make in the lives of children.”

Golf outing co-chair Clarissa Elgarten narrated a video in which families expressed appreciation for their Angels. One mother said, “We pray for our Angel every night.” Elgarten explained that Angels help 460 children in the diocese by providing up to $1,400 per student toward the average annual tuition of $3,100.

Totals from a Silent Auction held during the evening’s cocktail reception were multiplied after dinner by a freewheeling live auction of vacation getaways and tickets to sporting events.

Before the night was over, the Angels on the Fairway Golf Outing committee took time to honor Kevin Crowe, one of its longtime hard-working members, with a beautiful inscribed glass dish.

To become an Angel, call 718-965-7340.