The Pops Memorial Golf Outing a Celebration of Family, Friends, and Giving Back

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More than 150 golfers gathered on July 22 at Century Country Club in Purchase, NY for The Pops Memorial Golf Outing to benefit Blythedale Children's Hospital.  Under (mostly) sun-filled skies, golfers enjoyed a beautiful day on the links, raising more than $635,000 for Blythedale's innovative Day Hospital program. 

The day included a morning and afternoon round of golf, an opportunity for non-golfers to visit the Hospital and volunteer with young patients, and an evening program highlighted by heartfelt remarks and cheers for the day's champions on the course.

Maureen and Dan Pasquale, parents of John, a current patient at Blythedale, shared their journey which began last September when their previously healthy eight-year-old suffered a stroke. They spoke of John's inspiring progress, having made incredible gains in his recovery despite being admitted to Blythedale in a minimally conscious state. The couple has stayed by John's side every step of the way, with his dad noting, "Our house is on Staten Island, but right now our home is Blythedale."

Co-host Steven Starker urged attendees to reach out for a tour of the Hospital.

“I don’t think you really appreciate what Blythedale has to offer until you see it first hand and getting people there, for a tour or to spend a few minutes with the children, really just opens your eyes and gives you a different sense of appreciation for what an incredible, special place it is and the unbelievable people that work there and give their time," he said. "It’s just an incredible, incredible place.”

The Pops Memorial Golf Outing was founded in 2013 by Stuart Dix, father of Blythedale Trustee Farrel Starker, and Michael Brown. Their shared vision of bringing friends and family together for a day of golf and to learn more about Blythedale Children's Hospital grew in 2014 with 80 golfers raising $200,000 for the children of Blythedale. In September of 2014, Stuart unexpectedly passed away and his family and friends decided to carry on the event in his memory and hosted the first Stuart H. Dix Memorial Golf outing in 2015. Since its inception, this event has raised more than $6.2 million dollars for programs and services benefitting the children of Blythedale.

"Every year I find myself at a loss to adequately convey my gratitude to the Starker, Brown and Dix families," said Blythedale President & CEO Larry Levine. "The love and respect for Stu Dix and Ray Starker is tangible, and you feel it in the warmth of the golfers, the generosity of the supporters, and the deep heartfelt commitment of Farrel and Steven Starker, Michael and Ellen Brown, Judy Dix, Marilyn Starker, and the entire golf committee. I can't imagine a more beautiful legacy than to quite literally change the lives of countless medically fragile children and their families. We are deeply grateful to be the beneficiaries of their generosity."

Presenting Sponsors

David and Allison Blitzer 
Janice Michelle Foundation, Inc. 
The Kaye Family and Warburg Pincus, LLC

Eagle Sponsors

The Musoff/Lazar Family

Partner Sponsors

Jane and Norm Alpert
Maureen and Bruce Brickman
B. Carlin Foundation, Inc.
Cooper Road LLC/Bloom Funding LLC
Davidson Kempner
Deep Track Capital
Lawrence Dix and Hildegarde D. Becher Foundation, Inc.
Ricky Sandler and Melissa Silver
Andy and Gerri Sommers
Titan Legacy Fund Advisors LLC
Barry and Susan Weisfeld

The POPS Memorial Golf Committee

Hosts – Steven Starker and Michael Brown
Rahul Bajaj
Rick Blank, Jr.
Jay Bozick
Joseph Curro
Gary Dix
Lawrence Dix
Andrew Friedwald
Wesley Gradone
Peter Hochfelder
Richard Jacklin
Chip Kaye
Matt Lalin
Anton LeRoy
Randall McCallum
Scott Musoff
Evan Seidenstein
Brian Sklar
Robert Sobel
Gary Spitalnik
Dean Starker

For more information about this event, please contact Special Events Coordinator Toni Marie Favata.