CARLY'S ANGELS CLOSES BOOKS ON FUNDRAISING

What started as a fun golf tournament among friends more than two decades ago evolved into a community fundraising juggernaut that raised more than $700,000 for the community.

While the final golf tournament was held in 2014, the group of "Carly's Angels" recently closed its account, donating $17,000 for a change room in the Zancor Cortellucci Centre, and $1,000 to the Wasaga Beach Ministerial Food Bank.

Debbie Patterson said the group had been recently notified there was still some money left in the account.

"We had a little chat, and with the arena, we thought, what a perfect thing," she said.

Carly's Angels takes its name from Carly Patterson, the daugh

ter of Debbie and former Wasaga Beach mayor Cal Patterson.

Carly died in 1998 at the age of 22 from cancer.

At the time, the 10 women who would become Carly's Angels had just taken over a tournament hosted by retired NHLer Jason Arnott, intending it to be just for fun. It was co-sponsored by TD Bank and Re/ Max.

After Carly died, Marilyn Ruttan approached the Pattersons and asked if they would mind if the tournament became a memorial event in their daughter's name.

The first year saw more than $14,500 raised, and the organization Carly's Angels was born.

"We were hoping we might raise a couple of thousand," Patterson said. "Everybody jumped on board."

"It was almost like 'oldhome week' when we had the tournament, because it was community," said Carly's Angel member Kathy Macklin. "It was amazing."

The tournament started at Marlwood, and eventually moved to Wasaga

Sands. At its peak, the tournament would field a full slate of 144 golfers, and one year raised more than $65,000.

"Someone asked us, 'when are you going to stop this?' I said, 'when we don't make any money for the community is when we stop it,' " Patterson said.

When the tournament started, there were few amenities at the sports park on Klondike Park Road. The first donation paid for the gates as a way to spruce up the park. Future donations funded tree plantings, the construction of the pavilion, and the horseshoe pits.

The first year, Macklin said, some of the money went to the Children's Miracle Network, but a decision was made to also do something within the community.

"We needed to do something for the community," she said. "(At the time) there weren't a lot of things happening for kids, and that's when we came up with this project (at the sports park), and the BMX park, and the skatepark."

Carly's Angels also supported other youth projects such as the Youth Centre, and the Strong Kids Campaign at the YMCA.

Patterson said there is no special recipe for what the women were able to achieve.

"There are lots of groups of people around, they play golf or they play ball, or whatever they do," she said. "If these groups of people would just say, 'well, let's do some good', it would be a helluva world."

"It was the camaraderie. We were a good group of friends who golfed together and hung out together," said Macklin, who also helped the Pattersons by driving Carly to the Princess Margaret Hospital for treatments. "Having the tournament was our way of giving back to our community.

"For us, it was very community-oriented, and every year more and more people in our community would come to the tournament. We loved it — it was a passion."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With the closing of the Carly's Angels accounts, Simcoe.com decided to highlight the accomplishments of the 10 women behind the organization that ultimately raised more than $700,000 for community projects.