For the past six years, the diocesan Office of Parish Giving and Annual Catholic Appeal have hosted the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Golf Classic to benefit the athletic and spiritual needs of the youth of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
On June 18, nearly 100 golfers played the challenging course at the North Hills Country Club in Manhasset, L.I., to show their support for CYO sports.
In total, $100,000 was raised, which helps fund the CYO programs throughout the year. The organization consists of over 17,000 children from 100 parishes playing 15 different sports each year.
“On behalf of all the children in our sports programs, I’m so grateful for today’s events and all the hard work that is put into it,” said CYO Director Rob Caldera. “The funding raised here today helps expand our programs and helps keeps our programs alive and vital.”
A majority of the funding is used to help parishes rent facilities throughout Brooklyn and Queens for practices and games. Not all parishes are lucky enough to have their own facilities, so being able to rent out these venues provides the kids with a place to play.
With more kids playing, a trickle-down effect then allows the mission of CYO to be spread further throughout the diocese.
“The funding is important for the year because we’re able to recruit more kids and have the program we have because of what is raised here today,” Caldera said. “There’s more we can do because of days like today.”
“Rob is doing a great job, and the more money we raise, the more he can do and the more kids he can touch in the diocese,” said Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, diocesan Vicar for Development.
“We need to keep the kids connected. If it means through sports, it’s great, but any way to keep the kids connected to the Church is important. It also helps them to build character and instills in them good Christian values.”
On hand for the event was a special guest, former New York Mets relief pitcher John Franco. Before making it to the big leagues, he grew up playing CYO sports at Most Precious Blood Church, Bath Beach.
“It was a great experience growing up in my parish playing basketball,” said Franco, who amassed the most saves (424) for any left-handed pitched in MLB history. “I wasn’t a very good basketball player, but I loved to play and it was a good experience being involved in CYO.”
He said kids involved in youth sports learn the necessary lessons to help them in any path of life they choose.
“They teach you life lessons about how to win, how to lose, how to be a professional, how to act and how to treat other people,” Franco said. “There’s always someone out there who could use a helping hand, and that’s what the CYO does.”
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio echoed Franco’s sentiments in that the CYO provides a means to stimulate the athletic and spiritual needs of the diocesan youth and keeps the kids connected to life in their parishes.
“Sports is a teacher,” the bishop said. “It teaches manners, it teaches sportsmanship, it teaches all the things we need to know to deal with life, because life is a sport in a certain sense.
“You have to know how to play the game, you have to know the rules. So it’s a great thing for young people to be involved in.”
Even though summer vacation is here, the CYO will continue to be in full swing over the next few months with the second annual summer basketball league set to begin.
And then it’s on to another prosperous school year of CYO sports, made possible by the efforts of the diocesan Office of Parish Giving and Annual Catholic Appeal in hosting the golf outing.
Contact Jim Mancari via email at jmmanc@gmail.com.