Due to time constraints and a change in leadership, Iowa River Hospice is taking a year off from its annual Night of Stars fundraiser, usually its biggest event of the year. But those who wish to support the organization need not worry as there will be another new opportunity through the first annual golf tournament at Oakwood Golf Course in Conrad scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13 at noon.

As IRH Executive Director Shauna Callaway, who has held her position since last August, explained, the Night of Stars event has usually been used to cover days of care costs in the past, as well as general hospice services.

“When an individual comes in upstairs to the hospice house, there’s a room and board fee, and we have it on a sliding scale based on individual income. It’s adjusted accordingly, so when we raise money for days of care, then it supplements the rest of what the individual is unable to pay,” she said. “So it’s really a great thing. Our community supports it very much because it’s tangible. It’s this much for a day of care to provide for a patient who needs inpatient care.”

Night of Stars will be back next year, she added, but the golf tournament will fill the void in 2024. Along with the nine-hole tournament itself, with prizes for first, second and third place and mulligans available for those who wish they could take one of their swings back, there will be several other fun activities throughout the day including a quilt raffle, 50-50 raffle. IRH Director of Clinical Operations Maddie Callaway, Shauna’s daughter-in-law, said they’ve already received gift card donations from local restaurants like Zeno’s Pizza and Opa Grill.

Sponsorships are available to area businesses (bronze $100, silver $200 and gold $300) who would like to support the cause along with a $100 hole sponsorship option with the chance for a business to offer games and activities or simply market what they do. Maddie Callaway noted her gratitude for TFD Photo and Film for donating signage, and JBS has agreed to donate 75 pounds of pork butt for a meal.

While the IRH leadership team is excited to bring Night of Stars back in 2025, they also hope to make the golf outing an annual tradition and continue to grow it in the future.

“It’s new to us, and other people might have great ideas that we aren’t seeing. If they have ideas or ways they want to help or get involved, we would love to hear those,” Maddie Callaway said.

A QR code to register can be found in the graphic accompanying this story or at the following link:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=l56YORwKhEqCtZinvKjN1G0r-HeuLrZMvSDwerN8nlFUNzg0QkkwQzdZRzlEMUs0NDA0UEFRUTA3Ty4u&origin=QRCode.