Sept. 12 Bridgeport Harbor Station Golf Classic to Benefit Burn Center, Kids' Burn Camp

Five major energy corporations—PSEG Power Connecticut, Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P), NRG Energy, United Illuminating (UI) & Southern CT Gas and Capital Power —will sponsor the 2012 Bridgeport Harbor Station (BHS) Golf Classic, Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Whitney Farms Golf Course in Monroe.

The event will benefit The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital, the only burn center in Connecticut and one of only 60 nationally verified burn centers in the United States. Proceeds will also support the Connecticut Burns Care Foundation John Buffa Endowment for the Arthur C. Luf Children’s Burn Camp. The Burn Camp operates one week every summer for children with burn injuries, at no cost to their families.

“Our goal is to continue to make a difference in the lives of burn patients,” says Gary Greiner, a PSEG Director. PSEG Power Connecticut owns and operates the Bridgeport Harbor and New Haven Harbor generating stations.

This year marks the 22^nd anniversary of the Golf Classic. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $500,000 to support the care of thousands of burn patients from across Connecticut and neighboring states.

In 1980, a group of United Illuminating employees at the Bridgeport Harbor Station was severely burned and spent months in The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital. Their co-workers launched a fundraising campaign to support the Burn Center and thank its staff, which led to the first Bridgeport Harbor Station Classic in 1991. PSEG employees took up the cause when the company acquired the Bridgeport Harbor Station is 2002 and have continued this important fundraising event together with other Connecticut energy providers.

“The Burn Team at Bridgeport Hospital is extremely grateful for the support of the Bridgeport Harbor Station Golf Classic sponsors,” says John Schulz, MD, Medical Director of The Connecticut Burn Center. “These organizations help demonstrate the importance of corporate philanthropy to benefit healthcare services in our community.” 

The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital plans to use proceeds from the Golf Classic to support its current $1.5 million renovation project, which includes the addition of an overnight suite for families of patients, renovations to patient rooms to provide more privacy and comfort, improvements to the Center’s rehabilitation room and installation of a dedicated patient elevator that links the Center directly to the hospital operating room suite. Work has already begun and is expected to be completed in the fall.

Registration for the Golf Classic begins at 8:00 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. The entry fee is $175 per golfer ($80 of which is tax deductible) and includes continental breakfast, green fees, golf cart, gift, prizes and awards dinner. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For information, contact the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation at 203-384-3522.