Golf Scramble to Benefit Families Struggling With Cancer

Thirty-six teams will take to the greens Friday for the sixth annual Zach Tucker Golf Scramble.

Scheduled for May 13 at River Hills Country Club, 3943 New River Hills Parkway, Valrico, registration begins at 11:30 a.m. with a shotgun start set for 1 p.m. Lunch will be provided at check-in. All players will receive range balls to warm up, sodas and water along with admittance to an after-tournament buffet dinner and auction. There will be a putting and chipping contest as well as several on-course games.

The Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation is organizing the tournament, which was launched six years ago in honor of 8-year-old Zach Tucker, a Valrico boy who died of a brain tumor.

Zach’s parents, Sherry and Dirk Tucker, formed the foundation in 2007, the year after Zach’s death, to help other families struggling with a cancer diagnosis.

Sherry Tucker knew that she wanted to do something in her son’s memory to help others but it was Zach's Christmas stocking that eventually defined the foundation. The year Zach died, Sherry Tucker debated whether or not to hang his stocking.

"Dirk and Lexi (Zach's older sister) said I should hang it. But seeing it hanging there empty really bothered me. So I decided to do a gift card drive and put gift cards in the stocking to distribute to families struggling with cancer," said Sherry Tucker.

She put a request in her Christmas cards and, within two weeks, collected $4,000 in gift cards.

Since then, more than 185 families have benefitted in the form of gift cards and support through the foundation.

"When you go through something like this, you have a choice," said Sherry Tucker. "You can bury yourself under the covers or you can try to make a difference and share what you've learned. We decided we wanted to share. Zachary touched so many people in so many different ways. It's our responsibility to make sure the lessons he taught us are passed on."

Taking strength from a plaque someone gave her that reads, "God's purpose is always greater than your pain,” Tucker said she knows there are reasons they lost Zach at such a young age. And perhaps the foundation she and her husband have formed, the Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation, is one of those reasons.

The Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation selects families that are experiencing the same journey the Tuckers went through and sends them a monthly package containing gift cards, pertinent Scriptures and a personal letter written by Sherry.

"So many families can use the extra help that the gift cards provide," said Tucker. "Like me, a lot of mothers have to quit working so they can care for their child and take them to all the doctor's appointments."

Each year, Joe and Debbie Brus help the Tuckers organize the tournament.

Debbie Brus and Sherry Tucker formed a fast friendship years ago while walking their oldest children to the bus stop.

"When Zach was diagnosed, Debbie was my No. 1 organizer and cheerleader," said Tucker. "She was there every step of the way."

Joe Brus had experience organizing a golf tournament for a friend with leukemia when they lived in Atlanta and offered to put together the first tournament for Zach. It proved so successful that it seemed natural to turn it into a foundation fundraiser.

For more information on the tournament or to apply for assistance from the foundation, e-mail info@givinghopethroughfaith.org. For more information on the foundation, visit www.givinghopethroughfaith.org.