Residents swamp program with donated golf equipment

By NICOLE SACK, DAILY SUN

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 7:57 AM EDT

THE VILLAGES — When Village of Lynnhaven residents Paul and Philomena “Phil” Bowen embarked on their mission to collect as much golf equipment as possible to help rehabilitate servicemen and women, they knew Villagers would be generous.

They just didn’t know how overwhelming that generosity would be. But following a weeklong collection drive, the Bowens now know for sure.

Not only is their two-car garage filled with golf equipment, so is their next-door neighbor’s garage — and so is their friend’s garage in the Village of El Cortez.

“It looks like people quit golfing,” Phil Bowen said, surveying just what was stored in her garage. “I can’t believe it. We are overwhelmed. ... it’s better than we ever imagined.”

Paul Bowen has been keeping count of what has been received: 432 golf bags, 7,448 golf clubs, 17 pull-carts and more than 40,000 golf balls

The equipment is heading to Washington, D.C., to benefit the Wounded Warrior program, which uses golf to rehabilitate veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland use golf as therapy to help alleviate post-traumatic stress, adjust to amputations and ease veterans back into society.

The golf therapy gives the veterans a physical outlet and allows their families to take part in the activity, reinforcing family bonds.

Paul Bowen has been working nearly nonstop through the weekend to get the mounds of donations prepared for pickup. And when the Bowens needed help, other Villagers like Dave Hannan selflessly offered their time and labor for the cause.

A truck was rented Monday to begin loading the goods, which will be driven north later this week.

And Paul Bowen, who previously worked as a plant manager with experience in ordering cargo trucks, said he isn’t sure all the donations will be able to be transported in one run.

Whatever doesn’t fit will be stored until September, then driven to Washington, D.C.

“We want to express our thanks and gratitude for the overwhelming support for this cause,” said Phil Bowen. “And we couldn’t have done it without the cooperation by all the recreation department personnel.”

To facilitate the collection effort, the regional recreation centers opened their doors as donation sites July 27-31.

Kat Trulli, a recreation service representative at Laurel Manor Recreation Center, was at work each day of the drive and said the response was remarkable.

“Every day, it was nonstop,” Trulli recalled. “We even had people from Stonecrest and the surrounding areas bring in donations because they didn’t want to miss out on such a good cause.”

The golf equipment collection is now officially over, and no additional equipment donations can be accepted at the recreation centers.

Nicole Sack is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9245, or nicole.sack@thevillagesmedia.com.