We are teeing off on October 3 for the 2022 Drive to Save Lives. Our inaugural Drive To Save Lives in May 2021 was a smashing success – with 100+ players and guests in attendance. We raised more than $30,000, making it one of our biggest fundraising events ever!

Now, we are hitting the links once again at Carrollwood Country Club, hoping to raise even more funds ForHearts in need. We are looking forward to gathering with our friends and supporters for a day of friendly competition, food and drink, raffles, and prizes, all in support of the ForHearts mission.

With the goal of expanding our mission and broadening the scope of care that we provide ForHearts in need, the 2022 Drive to Save Lives will help to fund this expansion, from pacemakers to other implantable devices, such as stents and valves. It’s the “why” that we hope inspires everyone to join us again this year.

“Why they should come is supporting our mission of saving lives,” ForHearts Executive Director Laura DeLise says of the motivation for tournament participants. “The more dollars that come in help us save more lives.”

Raising Funds and Having Fun

We are serious about our mission to save lives, and the Drive to Save Lives gets the whole community involved with the mission in a fun and accessible way.

“It’s about having fun and supporting the mission,” emphasizes DeLise. “The golf is just the mechanism, if you will.”

“Our format is a scramble format, which always makes it more fun, and makes it easier for all golfers to participate. This is a tournament for all golfers—from beginner golfers to experienced golfers.”

And starting the day with a Bloody Mary bar is sure to level the playing field and get everyone in a fun frame of mind, whether that’s “with the vodka or without the vodka,” DeLise says with a laugh. “Whatever they’re in the mood for!”

This year’s tournament will feature new on-course experiences and additional perks for participants. Hole-in-one contests will give golfers the chance to putt for prizes, including a trip to the Master’s. Every golfer will receive credit to the tournament store, where they can “pick their own take-home gift”—from golf shoes, shirts, balls, towels, and more.

“We want people to return every year because they enjoy it and they believe in the mission and the tournament and what we do,” says DeLise of the Drive to Save Lives experience.

Sponsorships that Bring the Community Together

Returning this year as our presenting sponsor is Centennial Bank, which has been instrumental in helping us organize the event and promote ForHearts throughout the Tampa Bay community. Leading the Centennial Bank contingent is Tammy Youst-Collins, President of Small Business Accounts.

Youst-Collins first learned of ForHearts from Dr. Benedict Maniscalco, Immediate Past Chairman, and was moved by the impact we have on children in need.

“Any charity I work with has always been related to children,” she says. “So, when Dr. Maniscalco explained to me that they offer pacemakers to children that their parents can’t afford, it related to what I’ve done in the past with children’s charities. That’s my passion. I hate to see a child with heart disease, or a heart defect not given a chance to survive and become an adult.”

On the day of the tournament, you’ll see Tammy Youst-Collins and the Centennial Bank Team out in force.

“I have my loan officers and staff that play. We have two foursomes, so eight people playing,” she says. “I set up a tent at a hole, giving out hot dogs, burgers, food for the players.”

But Youst-Collins’s support goes beyond representing Centennial Bank at the event. She’s already worked to recruit tournament volunteers and secure prize donations for the raffle.

Says Laura DeLise of her involvement: “She is a great supporter of the organization and bringing the community together to support our mission. She’s done a really great job of bringing people to the table, of bringing her contacts and clients to the table, educating them about who we are and why it’s important.”

With many of the best-known hospitality and entertainment businesses in Tampa Bay also being Centennial Bank customers, Youst-Collins has lined up familiar favorites for this year’s raffle. Participants will have the opportunity to bid on everything from hotel stays and dinner at Jackson’s Bistro to signed memorabilia from the Buccaneers and Lightning.

“I pretty much involve everyone I know to sponsor, play, donate, or contribute in some kind,” says Youst-Collins.

Are you ready to contribute, or better yet, join in the fun? Participate in the 2022 Drive to Save Lives as a player, sponsor, or both! Register as a single player or gather your friends for a foursome. Support the tournament through our sponsorship tiers.

Click here for all the details and to register for the 2022 Drive to Save Lives.

We’ll see you on October 3 at Carrollwood Country Club!