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Toby Keith And Friends Raise Big Bucks For Charity
Toby Keith 's fifth annual celebrity golf tournament raised more than $700,000 for Ally's House, a Oklahoma nonprofit that benefits children with cancer and their families. This year's record-setting total topped last year's $500,000, pushing the five-year charitable contribution for the tournament past $2.3 million, according to a statement on Keith's website.
The June 6-7 "Toby Keith & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic" brought together 750 celebrities and guests for golfing, music and a silent auction, which featured items including two dinners with Keith, selling for $35,000 each. Other top auction items this year included a "Deadliest Catch" package ,which brought in $27,500 for a chance to ride with Captain Sig and the Northwestern crew from the hit Discovery Channel crab fishing series. A cameo spot in an upcoming Keith music video sold for $25,000, and tickets to a Las Vegas Keith performance with meet-and-greet passes went for $12,000. Autographed memorabilia at the auction included items from Tiger Woods, George Strait, Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, LeBron James, Carrie Underwood, Andre Agassi, Tony Stewart, Peyton Manning, Loretta Lynn, Trey Aikman, Nolan Ryan and Tom Hanks, among others.
All proceeds from the event, held at Belmar Golf Course in Moore, OK, went directly to Ally's House, which was named for Allison Webb, the daughter of original Toby Keith band member Scott Webb; Ally died at age two after losing a battle with kidney cancer. "Ally fought cancer about a year, and she wanted at least one parent with her all the time and Scott and Linda both work," Keith said, explaining the inspiration behind Ally's House. "A year is a long time [to] juggle that kind of life and that's what happens time and again."
Ally's House helps pay bills based on a specific family's needs, ranging from medical and pharmacy expenses to rent and utility payments. The organization also helps with the cost of lodging, food, health insurance premiums, deductibles and transportation, especially in light of skyrocketing fuel costs. Hundreds of Oklahoma families already have benefited from the care and support given by Ally's House.
