PO‘IPU — Disc Golf Kaua‘i ‘Ohana donated $1,363 worth of toys during its second annual Toys For Tots fundraiser Sunday afternoon at Weliweli Park in Po‘ipu.
PO‘IPU — Disc Golf Kaua‘i ‘Ohana donated $1,363 worth of toys during its second annual Toys For Tots fundraiser Sunday afternoon at Weliweli Park in Po‘ipu.
Tournament director Ryan Jacobsmeyer, a native of San Louis Obispo, California who used to have the fundraisers on the mainland before arriving on Kaua‘i, chose to start a fundraiser here in 2019.
The tournament was a 36-hole ace race, which features shorter holes, with the goal is to throw holes-in-one.
When Jacobsmeyer took the gifts to the Toys For Tots drop-off facility outside of Hanapepe Stadium, the group’s generosity generated an emotional response from the organization.
“We drove up to Hanapepe Stadium, and the lady at the drop-off center had tears in her eyes,” Jacobsmeyer said. “There are a lot of places that normally donate toys but didn’t this year because of COVID.”
According to Jacobsmeyer, the fundraiser was a success. Last year, 15 participants donate toys, and this year there were 33 donors.
“We had five times the amount of toys this year,” Jacobsmeyer said. “This year, we felt it was more important with COVID and unemployment and people not having jobs. It all went well this year.”
It was a group effort to donate to Toys For Tots, and the participants received raffle tickets to win prizes based on the number of toys they donated.
“It was a big group effort,” Jacobsmeyer said. “I am so proud of our disc-golf community that was able to step up and go big on this one.”
