BBBS plan Putt for Cass fundraiser

Colby Charette, right, Cassidy Charette’s brother and now “Big Brother” and mentor to his “Little” Harrison Quimby, get ready to “Putt 4 Cass” at Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream & Mini Golf, in Waterville May 20, to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine. To register, sponsor or volunteer, contact monica@bbbsmidmaine.org. Contributed photo

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine will celebrate the life of Cassidy Charette by raising money and awareness for local youth mentoring programs at a mini golf fundraiser “Putt 4 Cass” on Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream & Mini Golf, in Waterville. (Rain date May 21.) Cassidy was a junior at Messaonskee High School when she was killed in a hayride accident October 11, 2014. Since her passing, her school and its surrounding communities continue to find ways to honor and remember the teen whose passion was helping others through community service.

Cassidy was a volunteer for BBBS of Mid-Maine and advocated for a school-based mentoring program at her high school. When it wasn’t available, she asked to mentor a child each week at the Alfond Youth Center, completed training and was just two weeks shy of meeting her first “Little Sister.” In her honor, BBBS of Mid-Maine created three new BBBS school-based programs. Two of those programs pair Messalonskee high school mentors (Bigs) with youth facing adversity (Littles) at Atwood Primary and Williams Elementary schools, in Oakland. A third program was launched last year at the Boys/Girls Club and YMCA at Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, where each week kids in the after school care program meet one-on-one with high school “Bigs” from Messalonskee, Winslow, Waterville and Lawrence high schools.

“Helping others, especially children, was Cassidy’s passion,” said Monica Wilcox Charette, Cassidy’s mother and event coordinator. “These special mentoring programs will support hundreds of local kids, give high school students the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in a child’s life, and will honor Cassidy for years to come.”

The new mini golf event replaces “Bowl for Cassidy’s Sake,” a successful bowling fundraiser that in the last two years raised $80,000 for local BBBS programs. This year, schools, athletic teams, service groups and businesses are invited to form mini golf teams of four players, choose their preferred time to golf, register online (or call to register) and raise funds for local mentoring programs, then join the community May 20 to “Putt 4 Cass.”

The event will include course challenges with prizes, music, food, and ShineOnCass T-shirts for team fundraising. “Putt 4 Cass” is sponsored by Aetna, Fabian Oil, Golden Pond Wealth Management, Hammond Lumber, Mainely Trusses, New Balance, Smile Solutions, and Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream. Additional sponsoring opportunities are available, including hole sponsorships on the course.

To register a team, sponsor, volunteer, or for more information, call 314-6996, email monica@bbbsmidmaine.org or visit http://www.bbbsmidmaine.org.