Eighty-eight golfers will participate in Westbrook Housing’s charity golf tournament Friday, but one invited celebrity guest won’t be there.
To the disappointment of residents of Larrabee Village and employees of Westbrook Housing, comic and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres never responded to a video and letter sent to her in June ,asking her to come to the golf tournament to help boost funds for a new bus for the residents.
About 20 residents of Larrabee Village, a housing complex for elderly and disabled people that’s run by Westbrook Housing, starred in the video, which they hoped would air on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
The video showed the residents, some with walkers and canes or in wheelchairs, attempting to push the broken-down bus, as Westbrook Housing employees cheered them on.
Even though DeGeneres didn’t respond, Todd West, executive assistant at Westbrook Housing, said the video, which got more than 2,500 hits on the online site YouTube, still helped generate interest in the fourth annual Senior Dreams Golf Benefit, which begins at noon Friday at Sable Oaks Golf Course in South Portland.
West said the final numbers aren’t in for how much money the tournament will raise, but he said the goal was about $20,000. The activities coordinator for Westbrook Housing, Nicole Nappi, said she expects to raise about half that much, though they’ll continue trying to raise money through the day of the tournament.
Nappi said the money raised in the golf tournament is used toward all support services for Westbrook Housing, which includes “anything from homemaking to Meals on Wheels,” but, this year, the bus was “our main focus,” she said.
For many Larrabee Village residents, the bus, which broke down last winter, was their only form of transportation. In addition to taking them on runs to the bank and the grocery store, the bus brought the residents to plays and on foliage tours – activities they looked forward to and hope to be able to do again soon.
Nappi said a new, handicap-accessible bus would cost around $65,000. The old bus, which was purchased used with money from the same fundraiser four years ago, continued to break down despite thousands of dollars of repairs made. Nappi said Westbrook Housing is looking into grants and other forms of fundraising in order to be able to purchase the bus “as soon as possible.”
Still, residents, many of whom are fans of DeGeneres’ show, were let down that they never heard anything back from her.
“It’s a disappointment that she didn’t at least send some kind of letter saying she couldn’t come,” said resident Charlie Kendall, who participated in the video.
But according to West, the effort was worth it. The 22 teams of four golfers is the highest turnout the benefit has seen yet.
“It’s not all bad,” he said.
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