Next month, Channels Food Rescue is hosting a golf tournament on the West Course of the Country Club of Hershey. In its ninth year, the Channels Golf Classic is the perfect combination of charity and fun. What more can you ask for than an afternoon of golf in the name of generosity? The event includes a scramble-style golf tournament, dinner, and the chance to win thousands of dollars in prizes, with all of the proceeds going directly to the Channels Food Rescue of Harrisburg.

According to Andrew Dowling, Chairman of the Golf Committee, this year’s event hopes to raise approximately $20,000 and is set to host more than 100 golfers, besting last year’s total of 60. Dowling, also a member on the Board of Channels, sees this tournament as an excellent opportunity for local golfers to fight hunger in the area. “Most of us have a very good standard of living and we need to give back to the community. What a better way to give back than to help those that can’t help themselves.” He also took the opportunity to emphasize the uniqueness of the organization, stating that Channels merely helps the less fortunate by simply “taking resources that already exist and rechanneling them.”

In operation for fourteen years, Channels Food Rescue is a charitable, non-profit organization designed to transport excess food from large feeding programs, such as catered events at places like HersheyPark Arena or local restaurants, to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other agencies in the Greater Harrisburg area who feed the less fortunate. The program currently delivers more than 50,000 pounds of prepared and perishable food per month to more than 70 agencies all over the area, including such organizations as the St. Francis Soup Kitchen, Bethesda Mission, and the Salvation Army. A free service, Channels also plays a large part in saving money for these agencies because much of the otherwise appointed food budget can be redirected to other worthwhile services that the local agencies provide.

In addition to many other backers, this year’s Channels Golf Classic is headed by two principal sponsors, The Hall Foundation and Wray’s Music Store, Inc. Bill Selosky of Wray’s Music became interested in being a sponsor for Channels after years of not only helping the hungry, but fielding hundreds and hundreds of various charitable solicitations. Citing hunger as a universal problem that can no longer be denied, Selosky and his company decided to join the organization in its fight against hunger in the area. “It’s one of the most basic things in life, that we need to eat,” Selosky said, adding, “This is something I’m going to be devoting my life to. This isn’t a one-shot project.” A some-time golfer himself, Selosky echoed the sentiment that this tournament is the perfect occasion for area residents to battle hunger and enjoy a round of golf at the same time, encouraging their participation and urging them to “do what’s right, think about what it would be like to go hungry.”