Match play magic: Fundraiser pits golfers against NBA legends

As the fundraising chairperson on the Windermere Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization board, Natalie Mendez’s focus is to find creative ways to fund a variety of school improvement projects and enrichment programs for students. 

In recent years, thanks to donations and revenue collected from various events organized by the PTO, the school has been able to provide students with unique educational experiences, such as STEM labs hosted by the Orlando Science Center or specialty art projects. 

“Every year, our school gets together and comes up with different fundraisers for any school improvements that need to happen, as well as student enrichment programs,” Mendez said. “We put together new programs, activities, events, really anything to bring the community together and help provide for our students and because Windermere is a very, very tight-knit town that values our community, we are always able to raise what we need.”

Knowing the deep sense of community ingrained in the Southwest Orange town, as well as the affinity for golf its residents have, Mendez put two and two together and landed on this year’s big fundraising event: a golf tournament. 

“I thought to myself, ‘This is an area full of people who love to golf. Why haven’t we done a golf tournament before?’” Mendez said. “After that clicked in my head, I (dived) right in and began working on putting it together. Once I got it approved by the board, we got the ball rolling.”

There was one small issue, though: Mendez isn’t much of a golfer and didn’t know much about golf. Luckily for Mendez, Hall-of-Fame basketball player Vince Carter decided to lend a hand in planning the event. Yes, you read that right: The former Orlando Magic star player, known for his epic slam dunks, played a crucial role in planning this event.

“The Carter family … is all about community,” Mendez said. “So when I started pushing for the golf tournament, it was just going to be a normal golf tournament. But when I spoke to Sondi Carter, Vince’s wife and the vice president of the PTO, she said ‘Let’s talk to Vince and see if he can help us out.’ She did, and he was on board, and the first thing he did was pull out his Rolodex and begin calling his basketball player friends.”

What started as a normal golf tournament has turned into an Orlando Magic fan’s golf dream. Golfers will have the chance to share the course with five former Magic players — Carter, Grant Hill, Quentin Richardson, Courtney Lee and Bo Outlaw. As part of the fundraising effort, golfers can purchase a $100 raffle ticket for a chance to have one of the five players, chosen at random, join their foursome for all 18 holes of the event. 

The magic doesn’t stop there, though. The grand prize for the tournament’s winning foursome is a free round of golf at Four Seasons Orlando’s Golf and Sports Club, with Carter also tagging along for those 18 holes. 

“Having now two kids going to the school, and, of course, with Sondi being on the PTO … I wanted to really do my part and just help out and try to bring as many friends from the NBA world as I possibly could,” Vince Carter said. “For me, getting any opportunity to play golf, I’m always looking forward to that, but I’m also excited just to see the community come out and support the school. Being a part of the Windermere Elementary community for some years now … it was a no-brainer for me. It’s a great school, doing great things, and getting to combine my love for golf with a good cause is always easy.”

Beyond having the chance to win the raffle and play a round of golf at the West Orange Country Club with one of the five former pro hoopers, Mendez confirmed that they are finalizing the details on a few different opportunities for golfers to interact with them during the tournament.