When Ben Pearl died of cancer in 1997, his sons searched for a way to honour his memory and support cancer research.
Ben Pearl
Michael Pearl said, “My dad had sponsored a golf tournament before, and my brother, Steven, and I are both golfers, so we thought that would be a great way to remember him and raise money.”
Pearl, 52, a marketing consultant, said, however, that their tournament, named the Gentle Ben Charity Challenge, is “not your ordinary tournament.
“We’ve taken it out of town, to Bermuda, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Jamaica, Hilton Head, Florida and Phoenix. We ask every golfer to raise $1,000. We’ve had as many as 92 golfers.”
Half of them them have returned, he said, and some have raised as much as $15,000 or $16,000. “We’ve become like family.”
Pearl said the charity supports such causes as the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Charles Krowitz Burkitt’s Lymphoma Research Fund, Lilah’s Fund, and the Dr. Jay Charitable Foundation. It also operates in association with LWW Children’s Foundation, which is dedicated to helping families that have suffered losses as a result of cancer or aneurysms.
The event, to be held this year in October, he said, “has morphed into a sports extravaganza. It’s not a relaxing vacation, but we’re there to help everyone out. We’re like mother hens. We make sure everyone is happy and busy.”
It is “kind of” a man’s holiday, but some couples have taken part, he said.
Pearl is not looking for a pat on the back, he said, “but we’ve raised more than $1 million to date. This has made me enormously proud.
“It is a lot of work, but it is a labour of love. If our father is looking down, he is getting a lot of naches.”
For information on this year’s tournament, call Steven Pearl, 416-932-3588.
