Habitat â€œForeâ€ Humanity

Monday, September 17th 2007, 6:00 pm

By: News On 6

Habitat for Humanity supporters hit the golf course to raise money for their cause. The organization held its 9th annual fundraiser on Monday, and they had some Pretty Good Assistance, or PGA for short. The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports PGA tour pro, and former OSU star, Bo Van Pelt gave the event some star power, taking pictures with fans and taking shots off the tee, giving the fundraiser a big shot in the arm.

Habitat for Humanity held its Habitat Fore Humanity fundraiser on Monday. It's a well deserved day of fun for volunteers who have spent hundreds of hours working for the charity. But even when they're having fun, they manage to accomplish something, raising tens-of-thousands of dollars for the cause.

"We've got 120 guys out here today and gals, and we're going to raise a bunch of money," PGA pro Bo Van Pelt said.

This is the first year that PGA pro Bo Van Pelt has been involved with Habitat, something that he and his wife had wanted to do ever since they met back at Oklahoma State University.

"When we first got out of college, my wife, one of the parents at the school she used to teach at, they dedicated a house, and y'know we were young, and she said that would be great someday if we were able to do that," he said.

Van Pelt picked up the hammer and screwdriver to help build a house in Tulsa this summer. But Monday, he was just hammering golf balls with a driver, which left amazed volunteers both impressed and maybe a little depressed.

"When I think, okay, he's roughly my age, I bet we could do this about the same, and we can't,â€ laughed homebuilder Greg Grunewald. "I did pretty good. I got it about 35 feet off the tee, so I dumped it straight into the next tee box."

"Y'know, when he's teeing off and he's hitting it over 300 yards, not many people ever see that," said Paul Kent of Habitat for Humanity.

Paul Kent says it's the first time they've ever had a tour pro lend their celebrity to the event and says it's added measurable excitement.

"We're really going to be raising almost $60,000 this year, and the most we'd ever raised before was $32,000, so we've almost doubled the support from people this year," Kent said.

Van Pelt will be helping out with the golf tournament for the next two years as well.

Habitat for Humanity's goal is to build a total of 1,500 homes in the Tulsa area. For more information about the Habitat for Humanity chapter in Tulsa, click here.

WEB EXTRA: Extended Interview With PGA Professional Golfer Bo Van Pelt

Watch the video: Oklahoma Golf Pro Helping Raises Money To Raise Homes