>Madison man’s nonprofit to hold fundraiser for injured veterans
Friday, September 05, 2008
BY LESLIE KWOH
Star-Ledger Staff
Madison resident Brian Coleman is a self-proclaimed “golf nut.”
The 62-year-old has played at more than 300 golf courses around the world in places like Ireland, Mexico, Spain and Bermuda.
On his trips, he’s collected hundreds of thousands of ball markers, pin flags and playing card sets — from which he has made a small profit selling online.
“Golf nuts are incredible collec tors of junk,” he said.
But what started as a golf collectibles business several years ago has now turned into a nonprofit that supports wounded U.S. troops. Last year, Coleman decided to use his profits to donate golf therapy equipment to Veterans Af fairs hospitals and military medical centers across the country.
On Monday, Coleman will be holding the first Golf Supports Our Troops tournament at the Ridgewood Country Club, 96 W. Midland Ave. in Paramus. The daylong event starts at 11 a.m. and Coleman hopes to raise $25,000 from the $750-per-player event.
“I had all this inventory and I didn’t know what to do with it,” said Coleman, a retired financial printing salesman. “And I thought, ‘Maybe for once in your life, you could do something good.'”
Since he started Golf Supports Our Troops last spring, Coleman has raised about $90,000. On his website at golfsupportsourtroop s.org, he sells a range of collectibles from $7.99 military pins to $2,000 ballmarker collections.
Initially, Coleman donated to other veteran-focused charities. But he wanted to be directly involved in his donations, and he wanted to share his passion for golf.
So last year, he donated a pair of golf swing trainers — a hula hoop-like device that allows users to practice the arc of their swing — to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Texas. Then, in June, he contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs — and things really took off.
So far, about 20 VA hospitals have agreed to install the Explanar swing trainers, though none of them are in New Jersey, according to Laura Balun, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service Office in Washington, D.C. Coleman hopes to increase that number to 100 in the next 18 months.
Madison resident Kieron Farrelly, who has signed up for Monday’s tournament, said he felt especially compelled after discovering his 24-year-old nephew, Brian, is scheduled to be deployed with the New Jersey National Guard next month.
“I feel really good about doing it,” said Farrelly, 54.
Coleman says he can’t pinpoint one reason for deciding to support disabled veterans. Perhaps it was because he did not serve in Vietnam after doctors discovered that one of his legs was a fraction of an inch shorter than the other. Perhaps it was the images he saw in the media.
“We’ve lived a very comfortable life, and I’ve never had to serve. I’ve got two homes, belong to two golf clubs, I’ve got more cars than I need,” he said. “I’m small, I can’t give to a million things. But if I concentrate my resources on one thing, maybe I can make some type of impact.”
To register for Monday’s golf event, call Coleman at (201) 672-0600.
Leslie Kwoh may be reached at lkwoh@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.