After over a decade and a half of collecting, cleaning, and selling used golf balls, Marylou Gollert has contributed over $110,000 to My Friend\u2019s House<\/p>\n
COLLINGWOOD – At the annual Squire John\u2019s Tent Sale over the Canada Day weekend, Marylou Gollert \u2014 fondly known locally\u00a0as the Golf Ball Lady \u2014\u00a0 raised $14,000.<\/p>\n
What started over 16 years ago as a way to spend some of her time in retirement has\u00a0evolved into an ongoing fundraising endeavour that has brought in more than\u00a0$110,000 for\u00a0My Friend\u2019s House, a Collingwood-based women’s shelter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I started the first year for about $1,000 and every year that grows\u2026. We took up, this year, 20,000 balls to sell and probably took back about 5,000. But every year it\u2019s grown and grown,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The basic premise is Gollard collects reclaimed golf balls, either on her own or from donors, and sells them to donate the full sale price to My Friend’s House.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first large donation, from someone who worked at Monterra Golf, was about 10,000 balls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe how many balls he brought, it was amazing,\u201d she recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, more golf clubs wished to participate. Now they purchase used balls from her and resell them in a bin at their locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At 82 years old, she says she has the stamina to keep going and doesn\u2019t plan to stop any time soon. It\u2019s the community\u2019s enthusiasm and their contributions that motivate her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be motivated without those people and the people that bring the balls,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Robert Collins donated 2,000 balls this year for the tent sale, where Squire John provides the tent space.<\/p>\n
Volunteers work in three shifts over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cute,\u201d Gollert says, how thrilled they are to see the funds gathered at each shift, or to compare the amounts raised to previous years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The story, for her, is that the support from the community continues to grow. She says she sees the evidence of the impacts within the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a retired school principal, she was influenced by a conversation with a social worker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A high school kid, excellent in mathematics, lived at the shelter with his mom. They could not afford the scientific calculator the school suggested they purchase so he dropped the course.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Education Act says the school is supposed to provide everything they need for the children\u2026. So I asked the social worker, what does a mother do if she\u2019s there with her kids and she doesn\u2019t have any money,\u201d she recounts.<\/p>\n
Gollert learned that places like My Friend\u2019s House can provide clothing, shelter, and food, but government funds cannot be spent on other commodities. Her heart felt deeply for the kids. Since then, she makes an effort to contribute to the Children\u2019s Fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very significant. We\u2019re incredibly grateful for it, because it helps the children that are staying with us move on to brighter and better days,\u201d says Ciara O\u2019Connell, events and community relations manager at My Friend\u2019s House.<\/p>\n
Programs and services include YMCA passes, summer camps, and after-school care. Counselling is another service provided to youth at the shelter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a big component, because a lot of the children that are staying with us have been through such traumatic experiences that we have a child worker that deals with the counselling side and the issues that come about from leaving an abusive situation,\u201d says O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n
It surprised Gollert when she and her daughter made a Facebook Marketplace post for “Crappy Golf Balls,” and the 150 balls she thought were headed to the trash sold for $35.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She explains that people use them for practice or to introduce their kids to the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every small amount adds up with fewer golf balls going in the garbage.<\/p>\n
After a decade and a half, and through expanding operations, the next question Gollert asks is about the longevity of the project and increasing awareness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was worried when we were getting rid of so many balls that I wouldn\u2019t be able to keep it going,\u201d she says, calling attention to the donors who provide thousands of balls at a time.<\/p>\n
The community has always pulled together and Gollert says she lives in the present. She hopes to see others interested in the work and its cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started thinking, if this got publicized, people would get the idea and do the same thing,\u201d she says, considering other communities and possibly adding more pick-up locations to her website.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The beauty of it, she mentions, is there is no monetary cost because the product is free and the profits go to the local charity.<\/p>\n
If others do wish to begin similar operations there are some key factors to consider. The storage space is one of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order to make that kind of money I need at least 15,000 golf balls a year,\u201d Gollert says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could help them with how to do it. \u2026 Although the website says ‘golf ball lady,’ anybody could be a golf ball lady. I mean it could be guys, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are several ways to contribute to Gollert’s\u00a0campaign\u00a0include donating golf balls, egg cartons for sorting, purchasing from her website or at the annual tent sale. Other ways to help are by spreading awareness and volunteering the time to collect, wash and sort the golf balls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
High school students, wishing to complete community service hours, could help her sort the balls. Which she says has become a little bit more difficult as her eyesight worsens with age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Recently, My Friend’s House thanked a list of dedicated volunteers supporting Gollert’s efforts to sell reclaimed golf balls. The gratitude list included:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tPierre Tousignant, a dedicated Blue Mountain resident, who actively collects golf ball donations through garage sales and fellow golfers.
\n\tLongstanding contributions from the members and staff of Osler Brook Golf and Country Club, coordinated by The Hambley\u2019s.
\n\tPassionate golfers and “ball hunters” from near and far\u2014including Bill Goodwin (The Georgian Bay Club), Robert Collins and Ross Lawton (Monterra Golf Course), Kelly Strome (Kitchener- Waterloo), John Mocha and Bill Donegan (Toronto), and Jill Hardy (Grimsby)\u2014who have collectively delivered thousands of golf balls over the years.
\n\tTerry Schmidt, along with other Cranberry golfers and neighbours, who continue to donate and purchase golf balls regularly.
\n\tNumerous kind-hearted individuals, who reached out to \u201cThe Golf Ball Lady,\u201d Marylou Gollert, to coordinate donations of golf balls.
<\/p>\n
Interested donors are encouraged to call Marylou at 705-994-6338, she accepts any make and all conditions, every amount goes toward helping someone in need.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After over a decade and a half of collecting, cleaning, and selling used golf balls, Marylou Gollert has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,13007,622,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-14354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fundraisermy-friends-housemarylou-gollertsquire-johnschildrens-fundgolf-ball-lady","11":"tag-golf","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}