Rafe Cochran Golf Classic, Teeing Up for the Third Time
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 15, 2018) The Rafe Cochran Golf Classic is on the path to becoming a South Florida tradition. Dozens of local golfers will tee up for charity for the third time on Saturday, April 28, at the Mayacoo Lakes Country Club, 9697 Mayacoo Club Drive, West Palm Beach.
“It feels great to see the way it is evolving and how people are looking forward to playing in it each year,” Rafe said. “I think they are not only going to have fun participating in my golf charity, but they are enjoying the fact that they are playing to help others.”
Participants in this year’s tournament will help Rafe, now 13, build his second school in Jamaica through Food For The Poor.
The new Runaway Bay All Age School in St. Ann will have six classrooms, bathrooms with sanitation, and an office for staff to provide more than 400 students with a safe and secure environment to learn. The new school also will have a system in place to capture rainwater that will be used to supply the school with potable water, and a concrete trash bin will be built behind the school to create a visually appealing campus for the students.
“We are truly amazed by and are thankful for the philanthropic efforts of Rafe who began supporting the work of Food For The Poor four years ago,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “He’s only 13 years old, and his compassion for the less fortunate is incredible. Rafe also has deep appreciation for education, which has been a motivation for him to use his talents on the golf course to build schools. These schools are a beautiful blessing for hundreds of children now and for the generations to come.”
Last spring, Rafe and his parents, Jay and Diahann Cochran, visited Chester Primary and Infant School, also located in St. Ann and saw the need in the overcrowded classrooms. Thanks to the success of the Second Annual Rafe Cochran Golf Classic, dozens of 3- to 5-year-old students started the school year in a new school building.
“After visiting the children and building my first school in Jamaica, I realized how truly important it is to help children to get a proper education, which will help secure their futures,” Rafe said. “I am so fortunate and I want to help kids that aren’t given the same opportunities as me.”
Rafe began making a name in the golfing world at the age of 6. When he was 9, he became one of Food For The Poor’s youngest donors, raising money to build nine homes in Haiti. The Palm Beach Academy seventh-grader is a serious golfer who competes in tournaments year-round internationally and nationally, but he’s equally as passionate about making a positive impact on the world.
“I am going to keep growing my golf classic each year in order to provide the funds I need to help people,” Rafe said. “I really want to thank all the people who support me and help me meet my goals. I am very appreciative and I know without the help of others I could not do what I am doing. You’re never too young to take action.”
For registration information, please contact, LeToya Boyne at 954-427-2222 ext. 6901 or at [email protected]. Registration and a light lunch start at 11:30 a.m. on the day of the event.
This year’s golf tournament also will present a wide variety of special raffle items, including sport outings, local attractions and travel. Raffle tickets are one for $20, or eight for $100.
To learn more about Rafe’s Food For The Poor projects visit: www.FoodForThePoor.org/rafe
Event Sponsors: Bessemer Trust, Braman Porsche West Palm Beach, Susan P. Cochran, Mr. and Mrs. Ron Romeo, Mrs. Abigail Pollak, The Heard Family, Dwight and Martha Schra, and Victoria Matthews LLC.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Wanda Wright
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
[email protected]