Fishing Experience of a Lifetime raffle
August 18, 2021
Only 250 Raffle Tickets Will Be Sold for This Unique Fishing Experience.
Fantasy football, step aside. This fantasy is for any father who might enjoy spending casting a line with his son or daughter and kicking back in a boat alongside South Carolina’s own Bassmaster Hall-of-Famer Bassmaster Davy Hite. The Annual Reel Connection is Hite’s way of raising awareness about the importance of dads spending quality time with their children. This is the fourth year Hite has hosted the fishing trip for the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families (Center) where he also serves on the nonprofit’s Board of Trustees.
With only 250 tickets available, the odds of this fantasy fishing trip becoming a reality for one lucky father and child are quite good. Better still, your chance to support vital programs and services for SC fathers and families is guaranteed. Grand prize raffle tickets for the fishing trip are $100 and ticket sales will close as soon as the 250th ticket is sold. An unlimited number of $50 tickets will be sold for a chance to win one of two fishing prize packages which include a professional rod and reel, a bait and lure assortment and signed Davy Hite memorabilia. Ticket sales open Monday, August 16th and can only be purchased at www.scfathersandfamilies.com. Winners will be contacted and announced via the Center’s Facebook page on Thursday, September 2, 2021.
The Reel Connection raffle is the brainchild of the venerable South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families 501(3)c non-profit organization founded in 2002 with its mission to provide the means for fathers to become great dads for their children. That mission is delivered daily to fathers and families across the state through a network of fatherhood organizations that help dads make a real connection with their children through quality time activities, open communication, and bonding experiences. Every dollar raised in the Reel Connection campaign will support the Center’s nationally renowned programs and services.
“Davy is incredibly passionate about the vital role fathers play in children’s lives, not just while they are growing up but for all the decades that follow,” said Center President Pat Littlejohn, “Research proves the positive effects of a great father-child relationship last a lifetime. Unfortunately, the reverse is true also. The detriments of father absence are many and far-reaching, hurting children and families, raving our communities, draining economic resources. Children with engaged fathers do better in virtually every aspect of life..”
In fact, according to the U.S. Census, 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes, along with 85 percent of all youth in prisons and 71% of all high school dropouts.
“The Center’s programs are crucial because ending father absence is crucial,” Hite said. “Re-engaging fathers isn’t a panacea for all of our societal ills, but it is a huge part of the solution. Being able to help in any way I can is a privilege.”
If fishing doesn’t float your boat, but helping children does, tickets may be donated to a dad and child enrolled in one of the Center’s fatherhood programs.
“Most of the fathers enrolled in these programs don’t have the funds to purchase a ticket, yet many would ‘give their eye teeth’ to provide their child with this once-in-a-lifetime experience, Littlejohn said.
“We’ve served more than 20,000 fathers these last 19 years,” she said, “and I can tell you the one thing they all have in common is they want to be the very best dad they can be for their children.”
About the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families
The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families (Center) is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System. Its mission is based on the conviction that children thrive when an engaged, responsible father is active in their lives. In South Carolina, many children live in a father-absent home and the consequences are dire. To address this problem, the Center supports six fatherhood organizations across the state while advocating for and promoting father-friendly policies and practices and helping to erase society’s negative stereotypes of unwed, low-income dads. Learn more at www.scfathersandfamilies.
