The Sept. 23 tournament raises critical funds and awareness for the North Texas Food Bank and other nonprofits.

Jim McNeese and the team at McNeese Kids believe every child deserves the opportunity to be the best version of themselves. And that starts with food.

During The McNeese Kids Fourth Annual Charity Golf Tournament, September 23 at The Clubs at Stonebridge Ranch, they will raise crucial funds to combat child hunger, homelessness and abuse/neglect.

“We have the passion to make things better, but we know we can’t do it alone,” Jim says. “We strongly believe that working together, we can make an impact.”

To that end, McNeese Kids supports the North Texas Food Bank, Jonathan’s Place and The Samaritan Inn. In just the first three years, McNeese Kids has contributed more than 3,000 volunteer hours and over $300,000 to the children of North Texas.

“We have modeled McNeese Kids’ structure based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivational theory and focused our efforts on addressing the core dimensions of a child’s wellbeing. Hunger and food are at the base of the pyramid of things that we as humans must satisfy before we can even aspire to want more out of life,” says Nicole Katrana, Head of Marketing and Treasurer for McNeese Kids.

She and Jim said NTFB stood out as one of the largest hunger relief organizations in the region and that they were impressed with its facility, operations and model of partnering with around 500 pantries and community organizations (including Jonathan’s Place and Samaritan Inn) to ensure families have access to food. With one in five North Texas children facing hunger, they said they know access is paramount.

McNeese Kids has brought together groups to volunteer in NTFB’s Perot Family Campus warehouse and at partner food distributions, which Jim and Nicole says drives home the reality that hunger can impact any family.

“Hunger is not a faceless issue – and it’s not someone else’s problem,” says Nicole, adding that people needing food assistance may have suffered a job loss, a costly medical issue or simply rising living expenses. “The people suffering look just like you and me.”

The idea for McNeese Kids (and its logo) was born out of a dinner conversation with Jim’s sons, Cale and Caden. Now in college, the boys were 3 and 4 when they talked with their dad about how blessed their family was and how, one day, the family wanted to start a charity that would give back to other kids. Cale and Caden painted what is now McNeese Kids’ logo featuring a heart, a cross to signify their faith and their two handprints.

Throughout the year, the organization works to make an impact in its focus areas by raising awareness, fundraising and increasing volunteerism.

The golf tournament supports each of these areas by raising money that is allocated to partner nonprofits and The McNeese Kids Grant Program, providing an opportunity to volunteer with McNeese Kids during the tournament and raising awareness about the ways they serve children through signs and other initiatives built into the daylong event.

To learn more about the tournament, sponsorships or volunteer opportunities at the tournament and in the community throughout the year, visit mcneesekids.org.