Turnout for the Silverdale Shoot-Out has increased each year since the tournament began in 2007.
So, too, have the funds raised.
“We chose three organizations based on what we felt would have the most impact on Central Kitsap,” said co-organizer Chris Koebelin. “Money went to organizations that best represent what we’re trying to do.”
The Shoot-Out committee presented $2,500 checks Monday to The Paul Linder Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County and the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, dividing $7,500 raised from the 2009 tournament among the three beneficiaries.
The all-volunteer Paul Linder Foundation, founded in 1987, has awarded more than $37,000 in grant money to the Central Kitsap School District over the past nine years. The grants fund summer training programs for students and staff as well as classroom materials and student scholarships.
The Foundation is named after former CKSD Superintendent Paul Linder, a longtime educator who founded the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce and belonged to various civic organizations. He died in 1990.
“It’s absolutely paramount,” founder Natalie Bryson said of receiving the proceeds. “It’s important to have the community be involved in anything to do with the Paul Linder Educational Foundation because it means there is interest in our school district.”
Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County builds houses for low-income families.
The organization has constructed 53 homes and has 11 projects slated over the next year. Thirty-two additional houses are “coming down the pipeline,” according to development manager Robb Bowman.
“This kind of contribution will go a long way toward helping somebody get into a home and become a productive citizen,” Bowman said.
The Boys and Girls Club, meanwhile, has five locations across the West Sound — one in Bremerton and two in Port Orchard and Belfair — with a teen center scheduled to be built in East Bremerton in 2011.
Aimed at instilling a sense of competence, usefulness and belonging in young people, the organization has more than 25 programs nationwide. Its core areas of focus include education, environment, health, arts, careers, alcohol/drug and pregnancy prevention, gang prevention, leadership development and athletics.
“We were really excited to be a part of this,” said branch director Beth Wallace. “It really fit in well with some of the stuff we do at the club.”
The Shoot-Out’s field of teams has increased about 60 percent each year, bringing in a best 76 last summer. In 2008, the tournament raised $5,400. The committee added a “Corporate Challenge” for the 2009 tournament, generating additional interest.
Interested players are encouraged to sign up earlier rather than later — details for the 2010 tournament have yet to be released — because a few last-minute entries were turned away for the most recent tournament.
Organizers are confident the event will continue to grow.
“We think this is going to be a huge event in years to come,” said co-organizer Mark Stevens. “There are a lot of things that just feel good about it. So we’ve basically said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
