Arlington Heights neighbors plan fun fundraiser

Each summer, neighbors living on Roosevelt Avenue in Arlington Heights go beyond the traditional block party to socialize. They host a charity fundraiser.

On Saturday, they held their fifth annual glow-in-the-dark golf outing at Nickol Knoll Golf Club, a nine-hole, par 3 course, tucked away in the northwest corner of Arlington Heights.

This year, 37 golfers teed up at dusk in the unique outing before enjoying dinner donated by Tuscan Market of Arlington Heights, taking chances on raffle prizes, and bidding on silent auction items, supplied with donations from area merchants.

It all added up to raising $8,700 for their charity of choice this year, the Parkinson's disease Foundation, in honor of neighbors' relatives living with the degenerative disease.

The winning foursome included Chris Hyland, Tony Mazukelli, Nancy Riddle and Chad Moeller, all of Arlington Heights. They took home prizes, and more importantly, bragging rights in the neighborhood until next year.

Golfers on hand marveled at how far the event had come since its inception more than five years ago.

"It was back in 2002 that some neighbors and I were talking about getting involved," says Gretchen Bennes of Arlington Heights, "about doing something more, to make a difference."

That first year, they mounted their initial glow-in-the-dark outing, and raised $270 for the American Cancer Society.

Since then, they have incorporated their idea into a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, calling it simply, "Something More."

In March, they will meet to begin planning their next golf outing, and to select a new charity to support, chosen from neighbors' suggestions.

"Choosing a charity that has touched someone's life in the neighborhood makes it that much more personal, and rewarding," Bennes adds. "But let's face it, at the end of the day, we all feel pretty good about ourselves, because hey, we did something really good here."