PALM BEACH MOM WINS CAR IN BIRDIES FOR CHILDREN PROGRAM
Palm Beach Gardens, FL - When Mary Breen decided to take $80 of winnings from one Bunko Night with friends and donate it to charity through The Honda Cloassic's Birdies for Children Program, she attacked her entries kind of like someone would if they were buying Florida Lottery tickets.
Equipped with the knowledge that there were 1180 birdies in the 2009 Honda and 1144 in 2008 and that a correct guess of the number of tournament birdies in 2010 could net her a new Honda Insight Hybrid vehicle, Breen began looking for numbers in that ballpark.
"My daughter Jennifer was born in November of 1981. So I picked 1181," said Breen, who runs the cafeteria at St. Clare School in North Palm Beach . "Then I picked 1225 because my daughter Erin was born Chrsitmas Day. My daughter Sharon was born in October 1989 so I also did 1089."
With seven kids whom she raised for the past 10 years as a single mom after losing her 40-year-old husband to a heart attack, Breen wasn't without options in picking numbers to enter in the contest. But she chose two more at random because she felt they better fit the range of likely birdies in the 2010 Honda.
The number of birdies ended up being 1181, but the excitement of nailing the number for a winning entry was only just beginning for Breen. Eleven other entrants from the 916 individuals who purchased Birdies for Children entries also had penciled 1181 on their entry forms. So that meant Breen would have to win a 12-person drawing for the car. She watched on as 10 names were eliminated, leaving her in the final two names in the hopper. Then she won.
"The drawing was so painful and stressful," Breen said. "As each name came off the board, my heart started beating faster and faster. And then when I got down to the end, it was all surreal."
Having driven a mini-van for much of the past decade so she could shuttle her kids, Breen welcomed the idea of owning a smaller Honda.
"I'm not even a golfer, I was just supporting the Hannah's Home Charity (for teenage moms who need housing and assistance) by buying the entries," Breen said. "Its just starting to hit me that I actually won a car."
The Honda Classic, in partnership with BIOMET 3i, created the Birdies for Children Program to allow charitable partners to use the PGA TOUR event as a fundraising tool for their own charities. Participating charities solicited pledges from individuals ($20 for 1 guess / $50 for 3 guesses). There was no limit to the number of entries per person. The program, which raised more than $75,000 through entries and sponsorships, returned 110% of what was raised by each charity back to their cause through a Bonus Bucks pool funded by the tournament.
Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens , Florida , with operations throughout the world, BIOMET 3i is one of the leading companies in the oral reconstruction market. BIOMET 3i offers one of implant dentistry's most comprehensive lines of implants and abutments, augmented by a growing line of site preparation and regenerative products.
"We are very excited to be sponsoring this program," said Maggie Anderson, President of BIOMET 3i. "The opportunity to help children's charities in our community ties back to what BIOMET 3i is built upon: support, investing in our partners and reaching out to improve the lives of our doctors and their patients."
Last Updated: 6/7/2010 11:56:29 AM / Generated at: 2/5/2012 4:01:37 AM