Usually, the phrase “dropping the ball” has a negative connotation, but that’s not the case for the Ball Drop for Turlock.
The fourth annual event, rebranded this year as the Ball Drop for Turlock, will be held Oct. 21 at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds.
Money is raised for local charities — Adult & Teen Challenge, Turlock Gospel Mission, the Salvation Army and the Police Activities League — by selling individual golf balls for $25 apiece. Essentially, it’s a round, dimpled lottery ticket. All the balls are then loaded onto the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department’s helicopter and dropped onto a target painted on the ground. All the balls that land in the bull’s eye are then put into a bucket. Thirteen people whose golf ball is pulled from the bucket will win prizes.
“We’re awarding gift cards from Amazon,” said event co-founder Brad Hansen, a Southern California transplant who has lived in Turlock for the past nine years. “We’ll have 10 $100 gift cards, two $500 cards and one $1,000 card.”
This will be the first year that the event is held at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds. In years past, the event solely benefited the Adult & Teen Challenge program. Organizers decided to open the event to more charities this year.
“We brought PAL, Turlock Gospel Mission and the Salvation Army on board this year, and because it’s more of a community-wide event, it’s opened doors that had not been opened before,” said Hansen. “You know the saying ‘a rising tide lifts all boats?’ Well, it’s happening. And we have great plans for the next three years.”
The goal for the first year was to raise $25,000, according to Hansen. They more than doubled that by raising $60,000. All told, the event has raised $214,000 — a little more than $70,000 per year on average.
The public is welcome to attend the ball drop beginning at 11 a.m. on Oct. 21. All ages will get a chance to meet the Stanislaus Air Support Team and get up close to the helicopter. Local food trucks will be available for lunch and local vendors will provide coffee drinks and hot chocolate.
The helicopter will arrive close to 11:30 a.m. and will lift off to drop the balls at noon. After a brief program, and wave goodbye to the helicopter, the winners will be announced. The ball drop event will conclude at 1 p.m.
You can purchase golf balls at the Turlock Certified Farmers Market (Main and Thor streets) each Saturday through Oct. 14, or visit balldropforhope.org to find out more.
