All Saints Foundation to Host Tennis Tournament and Dinner

The Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare All Saints Foundation will host its 9th Annual Robert W. Baird & Co. Tennis Tournament Friday, June 3 at the Racine Country Club, 2801 Northwestern Avenue.

Ashley Caruso, philanthropy associate with the Foundation, said 100 percent of the funds raised during the event would benefit the childhood obesity prevention programs in Racine County.

“We’re calling this a tournament, but it’s really for people at all skill levels,” Caruso said.

Dr. Ronald Schulgit, who practices at All Saints and is involved in coordinating the event, said childhood obesity is a serious issue, which is why the foundation chose to raise money for the program.

“What I like about this event is that 100 percent of the proceeds are going to help benefit the program,” he said. “It’s all going to support the program. I also like it because tennis is fun thing anyone at any skill can be a part of.”

One of the reasons why many families in poverty struggle with obesity is because the cheaper, more processed foods are often unhealthier.

“The things that are inexpensive are macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and happy meals,” Caruso said.

Nearly 25 percent of Racine County residents are under the age of 17, and 14 percent are living in poverty. And because obesity ultimately leads to chronic illnesses, including type two diabetes and heart disease, officials with the hospital see an opportunity for prevention.

Caruso said the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare –All Saints’ Clinical Nutrition Department, which partners with Racine Unified, is planning to expand their current outreach program to teach children and their families how to make healthy lifestyle choices.

“This program used to be called Active Lifestyles and it was a great program, but it was small and served about eight to 12 kids,” she said. “Now, the clinical nutrition program wants to reach a larger number of students so we can teach kids how to make healthy decisions.”

The expanded program is a new pilot program for summer school students that will last for six weeks. In the fall, the program will be held all year.

“We’re going to stress a number of different physical activities and also address nutrition,” Caruso said. “It’s difficult for families to put food on the table. We need to take care our children because they will grow to be our future and we need to train children to make better decisions and hopefully they will take those tools home.”

The tennis tournament is meant to build a little fun and friendly competition, and the dinner will have non-traditional theme.

“We wanted to have something different from the traditional gala. So our theme is a Mexican fiesta,” Caruso said.

The tennis tournament begins at 2 p.m. and dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. The evening will include entertainment, an Elvis impersonator, and an appearance by former Miss Wisconsin, Jeanie Hatfield.

The cost of the tennis tournament is $45, and the cost of the dinner is $45. To participate in the tournament and attend the dinner, the cost is $80 per person. To register, please contact Ashley Caruso at (262) 687-8652 or Chris Leberfing  (262) 634-1911.