Celebrity Golf Classic raises more than $655,000

The Lee Memorial Health System Foundation has announced that more than $655,000 was raised in partnership with the Boston Red Sox and will be directed toward treatments and programs for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients and their families.

A recent six-bed expansion of The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida's NICU was necessitated by an increase in premature births and a nearly always full unit. The new funding and the six-bed expansion will seek to keep families together and reduce the number of neonatal intensive care transports to Tampa and Miami.

The Boston Red Sox and The Lee Memorial Health System Foundation partner each year on a three-part fundraising initiative to benefit The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. The signature event series includes a Celebrity Golf Classic, a "Tee-Party" the day before and "The Diamond Dinner."

Red Sox players Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, Jonathan Paplebon, Manny Delcarmen, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester and Hideki Okajima joined Red Sox Management for the events. Jack and Shelley Blais, longtime philanthropists provided a matching commitment to funds raised. This match allows the LMHS Foundation to double all proceeds raised by the events. The six-bed expansion center within the NICU was recently named in their honor and will be called the Shelley and Jack Blais Neonatal Center.

Each year, a child who has been saved or treated by the designated funding area is honored as the MVP - Most Valuable Patient. This year's MVP was 17 month-old NICU success story Piper Lynne Buckley, daughter of Heather Buckley and former Florida Everblades star Tom Buckley, all of Fort Myers.

The Forest Country Club has hosted the golf tournament and Tee-Party for 15 years. Many members of the club serve on the event organizing committee and two of their residents, Marilyn Qunell and Dale Tucker, served as chairs of this year's event series. Red Sox legend Jim Rice was this year's honorary chair.