The Barrie & District Association of Realtors held its 7th Annual Charity Golf Tournament recently, with proceeds donated to The Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe County. From left: Terri Soukup, assistant executive director, Elizabeth Fry Society; David Burgess, chair, Golf Committee; Bonnie Seymour, Golf Committee staff liaison for the association; Dave Thompson, Golf Committee member; Wendy Elzner, past-president of the association; and Stephen Stables, Golf Committee member.

A great day of golf for a deserving charity was the drive behind The Barrie & District Association of Realtors 7th Annual Charity Golf Tournament in support of The Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe County. The event raised $2,937.

The society, a community-based, not-for-profit agency, offers support and guidance by trained volunteers for youth and women involved with the criminal justice system. Clients include those who are at risk or perceived to be in conflict with the law. The society incorporates youth justice, employment training programs and residential services.

The concept for the society was developed in 1988 by a parole officer and her client, who identified the need for support for women involved in the criminal justice system. Their goal was to provide programs and to open a half-way house for women within five years. Joyce Kope House, a 27-bed shelter, is for women released from correctional institutions, homeless women, women suffering from addictions and mental illness, overflow from shelters for the abused, and seniors without housing. It is the only half-way house north of Toronto for federally and provincially sentenced women.