According to Dayspring Center executive director Lori Casson, one of the most difficult aspects of helping homeless families in Indiana is that homelessness itself is not always an easy thing to spot. Families who are struggling and moving from motel to motel, trying to keep a roof over the heads of their loved ones, often feel social stigma and a myriad of external pressures that make it a daunting challenge to pull out of the family crisis.
That's where the Dayspring Center steps in.
On Saturday night at Pirates' Cove mini golf course on Indianapolis' Northside, around 100 people gathered to help raise support and awareness for families dealing with homelessness, and to help fund the Dayspring Center, a nonprofit organization that provides families stricken by homelessness with the tools to help them get back on their feet.
"What we do, is really work with the family to get them through this crisis so that they can move on to self-sufficiency once again," Casson explained.
The Pacers' contribution to the evening was celebrity putter Rodney Stuckey, who was auctioned off to two groups to play mini golf with their party. Stuckey, feeling inspired by the cause, offered to match any bid made for him so that the fundraising for the Dayspring center would be doubled. By the time the Rodney Stuckey auction was complete, $3,200 had been raised, most of which will help fund a summer camp that the Dayspring center runs for the children of families who are in-between homes.
"They do a good job around the Indiana community just helping less fortunate families," Stuckey explained. "And providing shelter and putting them back on the right track, the track they need to be on."
By the time the actual mini golfing began, the team that won the auction for Stuckey might have been feeling a bit of buyer's remorse as he knocked his first shot off of the green. "Too much time in the weight room," he mused.
But after his errant shot, Stuckey pulled his round together and enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with Pacers fans and help raise money for the Dayspring Center.
"We definitely have to make sure that children have the right knowledge and needs for the future," said Stuckey of the nonprofit. "Just helping out and being involved and making sure they're good is important to me."