A view of the course at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club. The club will host a Teen Parents Succeeding Golf Outing Aug. 14. (Photo provided)

LEESBURG — When Kryste Wallen began thinking about possible fundraising opportunities for the Teen Parents Succeeding program, she thought back to a golf outing she helped organize previously at the Tippecanoe Lake Country Club.

That event was a success, and she thought the game of golf generally and the Tippy Lake Country Club specifically might prove successful once more for TPS. So she reached out to club general manager Matt Funkhouser, with whom she had worked before, and the two got the ball rolling.

The first annual Teen Parents Succeeding Golf Outing will be held Monday, Aug. 14 at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club.

“I have actually worked as a marketing consultant and have done a lot of work in the golf industry and done consulting for a lot of golf courses in the area, including Tippy,” explained Wallen.

“I previously put on a golf fundraiser event at Tippy… and it was pretty well-received so I thought potentially this could be a good fundraiser to add to TPS.”

“Teen Parents Succeeding is a great organization,” said Funkhouser via email.

“Tippecanoe Lake Country Club likes to support local organizations and is glad TPS chose Tippy to host its golf outing.”

The event will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. at the club, located at 7245 N. Kalorama Rd. in Leesburg. Registration will take place 30 minutes prior to start time. Entry fee is $350 per foursome and includes green fees and lunch for four. Lunch is a deli-style buffet and will begin at midday at the course clubhouse.

“They were gracious enough to work with us so that we could provide a really lovely buffet deli luncheon in the clubhouse. We’re not even having a lunch outside and handing you a sack lunch; it is an actual luncheon in the country club clubhouse,” said Wallen.

TPS is a United Way of Kosciusko County program that serves teen parents in the communities of Syracuse, Milford and North Webster who are in need of child care and support in order to complete their educational goals. Founded in 1991, in the years since TPS has moved from being a child care center only to providing comprehensive support for teen parents, including life skills training.

“It’s a great cause because we not only provide child care for our teen parents, but we also provide parent enrichment programming. Part of our mission and kind of our tagline is ‘Education, enrichment, empowerment,’” Wallen said.

“That’s really our goal at TPS — to raise multiple generations that are self-sustaining.”

Not only will participants at the TPS Golf Outing get the chance to fund a worthy cause, they’ll also be getting an opportunity to play at a historic private golf club situated along the shores of Lake Tippecanoe, one that non-members may otherwise not have access to. It’s a win-win scenario, says Wallen.

“Any time you can spend money and do something that’s for the greater good but still get value for your dollar, that is a win-win situation. That’s a great opportunity, and Tippy is a gorgeous course. You don’t always get the opportunity to play there: You need to be invited by a guest or participate in an event such as this,” she said.

“We’re very grateful to have the opportunity to have an outing at such a gorgeous location and to have such a nice event.”

Along with player openings, sponsorship opportunities are available for the TPS Golf Outing as well. Hole sponsorships are available at $100 each. Silver level sponsorship can be had for $500 and includes a hole sponsorship and entry for a foursome. Gold level sponsorships are $1,000 and includes a hole sponsorship and two foursomes. Platinum level sponsorships are $2,500 and will include a banner at the event and four foursomes.

There is also a single Presenting Sponsorship available with a cost of $5,000. For that price tag, the presenting sponsor would get their name on all event literature and a banner, as well as have the opportunity to speak before and after the event.

“Ongoing notoriety to be involved with sponsoring the event, as well as you get exposure at the country club,” Wallen said. “There are a lot of businesspeople in that country club from around the area and further. They’re not just local, they’re regional, so if you’re sponsoring there could be someone who owns a company in Indianapolis or Chicago and they happen to be at the lake for the weekend or at the country club, and they may become aware of your business.”

Contact Wallen at [email protected] or call 574-457-3541 for more information. Make checks payable to Teen Parents Succeeding.

The TPS center is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. year-round in order for students to take classes and hold part-time jobs