WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Golfers will light up the night sky and support a charity that helps underserved communities around the world at Waubeeka Golf Links this week.

 

Waubeeka will host a Glowball Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 7 to 10 p.m., to benefit Hope International, a Pennsylvania-based Christian charity dedicated to sharing "the hope of Christ as we provide biblically based training, savings services, and loans that restore dignity and break the cycle of poverty."

 

Chris Kapiloff, who purchased the golf course earlier this year, has firsthand experience with Hope International, having picked and roasted coffee beans alongside residents of Rwanda on a visit with his family in 2019.

 

"Hope International is a phenomenal organization," Kapiloff said this week. "My wife and I really like supporting organizations that help children. There are lots of good organizations with lots of good causes, organizations that help people who can't help themselves.

 

"Hope does an amazing job helping people who can work, who can be creative with just a small break and be amazing. Hope provides banking to people who live in the middle of nowhere, who normally don't have access to banking. It provides training for small businesses."

 

Founded in 1997, the non-denominational charity fosters economic development in two dozen countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

 

Hope International offers mentoring, training and loans to help people in developing nations launch or expand their businesses.

 

Kapiloff called his time in Rwanda with the agency a "life-changing experience."

 

"My daughter and I in Rwanda were introduced to villages that, 10 years ago, were subsistence farmers," Kapiloff said. "They never had anything to bring to market. They could never take part in the modern economy.

 

"They were given training, financing, banking opportunities and, on their own, they built flourishing businesses. The town had schools and hospitals, cars and electricity — things that a decade earlier there was no timespan in which those villages would get those services. People built it themselves, without government help. But they needed a jump start, and that's what Hope International does."

 

Kapiloff is hopeful the golfing community will turn out to support that mission.

 

For $50 ($25 for children under 16), golfers will enjoy a dinner prepared by Waubeeka head chef Mark Mills, sample coffee from beans harvested on African plantations helped by Hope International and play in a nine-hole scramble format golf tournament under the stars.

 

All proceeds will go to Hope International, and two generous donors are each offering to match donations received up to $10,000, Kapiloff said.

 

"We can triple match people's giving and ticket prices, which is exciting," he said. "The original goal was to try to raise $10,000. With these two people willing to match, we're really hoping to raise like $20,000."

 

On Thursday, Kapiloff said that registration for the event was in the 20s, but he said there was room for 60-some participants.

 

And he is encouraging golfers of any ability — or none at all — to give the game a try.

 

"All of the holes will be par 3s," Kapiloff said, explaining how the course will be modified for the nighttime event. "It will be 100 to 175 yards per hole. The new tee boxes will be marked with tiki torches. The paths will be lined with tiki torches. It's not like it's going to be pitch black out there.

 

"Unless there's very, very dark cloud cover, you'll still be able to see. It won't be like walking around your basement with no lights on. We'll have several hundred tiki torches here. And we'll have our staff on the course to direct people."

 

Waubeeka also will be providing extra balls on the course, so participants won't have to go deep into the tree line to chase after any errant shots.

 

"We're going to be setting up the holes in a way where our many rivers and ponds won't come into play as much as they normally would," Kapiloff said.

 

He is not describing the Aug. 17 tournament as the first of an "annual" event for the club. Kapiloff said he will have other fun charity events in future years, but he wants to keep the glowball experience special, something that does not come around every year.

 

"Glowball seemed like a fun way to do golf," he said. "We wanted to include people who aren't normally golfers. We wanted it to be something that is family-friendly. If someone wants to come with a group of buddies, they'll have a good time, too, but if you want to come with your kids, you can have fun and see how Hope International impacts kids.

 

"We probably won't do it again for three or four more summers. We just want to keep it something that is super special."