Newton Cares Classic lets celebrities test their skills while fundraising

Celebrities at the Gregg Young Auto Center presents Newton Cares Classic powered by High Noon got to show off their golf game to local leaders, stakeholders and residents this past week at Westwood Golf Course, but the real heart of the event is to raise money for good causes.

Jessica Lowe Vokes, executive director of the United Way of Jasper County, said the event is a partnership between the local nonprofit and the City of Newton, which owns and operates the golf course. Newton Cares Classic this year had 25 celebrity golfers, including Nick Easley, Merv Krakau and James Moses.

Newton Cares Classic came out of an idea to get celebrities to play alongside local golfers in an effort to raise funds for the United Way and parks projects for the city. Lowe Vokes said the money for this past tournament, which took place July 20, went towards the nonprofit and Friends of Newton Parks.

“The money is earmarked for building adaptive playgrounds in the community,” Lowe Vokes said in a phone interview with Newton News. “That way if you have an individual who has a disability or has another mobility issue, we’ll have adaptive and accessible playgrounds in Newton.”

For the United Way, the funds go towards assistance to other nonprofit agencies in the community helping with homelessness assistance programs, food insecurity, accessibility to mental health care and addiction recovery, among other supportive causes.

Whenever Lowe Vokes gets ready to host an event, she is always nervous of how it is going to go. But then she sees people smiling and having fun and truly having a good time, and before long all those worries disappear. The nice compliments from celebrities about the event also go a long way.

“Everyone really got along well together,” she said. “I can’t say enough about the group of celebrities that come. They donate their time. Everybody who has ever come to the Newton Cares Classic has donated their time. There are a lot of people that will go around and do these kinds of things and they charge.”

Whereas the people participating in the Newton Cares Classic are not.

“They’ve never charged a dime,” she said. “Oftentimes they’re taking part in the games and donations alongside everybody else making donations. So I think we have something really, really special going on here. It’s such a special group of people who are willing to come and play.”

Sponsorships come up strong for these types of events, too. Gregg Young Auto has served as the presenting sponsor every year for the Newton Cares Classic.

“And of course we had over 50 volunteers at the course,” Lowe Vokes said, noting there were 100 total golfers playing, including celebrities. “It’s a huge event, a really huge event. And it’s nothing without all the people coming together to make it happen. I’m just so thankful for all of the work that people put into it.”