The Emmitt Smith Celebrity Invitational golf tournament and gala, presented by title sponsor Healthcare Highways, will take place May 4 and 5, marking its 9th year of grand-scale fundraising to directly impact the lives of thousands of North Texas children, families and their communities.
Led by Honorary Chairs Torii and Katrina Hunter and Event Chairs Janiece Evans-Page and Mark Page the theme for this year is “Rising Stars”. Attendees will learn the stories of three amazing students who have participated in Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities programs, including members of the flagship mentoring program, TEAM 22. These rising stars will be celebrated, along with a host of celebrities from the sports and entertainment world, local business leaders and officials.
This year’s Roger Staubach Award recipient is Jason Witten. Witten’s SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last decade. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states. SCORE has also operated a weekend food backpack program for disadvantaged children in North Texas, opened Jason Witten Learning Centers in five different Boys & Girls Clubs and opened the Jason and Michelle Witten Emergency Waiting Room at the Niswonger Children’s Hospital in Johnson City, TN. The Roger Staubach award recognizes sports and or entertainment professionals who positively impact the lives of children by living courageously and creating opportunities for today’s youth. This is the only award to be named in Staubach’s honor other than the one established at his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy.
The Rising Stars gala ushers in the Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament, presented by American Airlines, on Saturday, May 5 hosted at TPC Craig Ranch. Players will be paired with celebrities to create foursomes to vie for bragging rights and the $5,000 purse sponsored by Waste Management. The public is invited to view the event at the VIP Pavilion sponsored by Toyota.
Now in its 9th year, the Emmitt Smith Celebrity Invitational has raised more than $6.2 million in support of Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities and supported more than 150 charities in North Texas, including 7,000 Dallas ISD students and families through their annual back to school program and hurricane relief efforts. Proceeds from the weekend go to Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities, (PESC), a 501(c)(3) public charity that creates and funds unique educational experiences and enrichment opportunities for North Texas children.
Friday Night Gala tickets begin at $750 each, and limited tables at $10,000+ with sponsorships available. Saturday Golf Tournament VIP Pavilion passes are $50 each. For ticket and sponsorship details contact Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities Executive Director, Dana Vilardi, at dvilardi@ejsmithenterprises.com. For more information, visit www.emmittsmithcelebrityinvitational.com
*Pictured above: Mark Page, Janiece Evans-Page, Jason Witten, Pat and Emmitt Smith. Photo courtesy of Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities.
ABOUT PAT & EMMITT SMITH CHARITIES
Pat and Emmitt Smith have a passion to help young people by providing them with opportunities to reach their fullest potential, even when there may be barriers in front of them. Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities is committed to providing resources to children to help them see and dream beyond the restrictive opportunities of their environment or the limitations others have placed upon them by supporting high quality programs in North Texas through grants, scholarships and partnership efforts. In this way, their efforts are amplified throughout the community and allow them to impact thousands of children each year. Pat and Emmitt Smith personally mentor a group of high potential, high performing, students from the Dallas area through their flagship program, TEAM 22. In order to nurture their growth into confident young leaders they host unique educational experiences, send them to a leadership camp, pair them with mentors and require that they give back through community service. For more information, visit www.emmittsmithcelebrityinvitational.com.
