Good News Roundup: Young NM golfers making waves, A Halloween party and making boo baskets

Welcome to the weekly good news roundup, bringing you some of the great “good news” from around New Mexico.

Teeing it up in Hawaii: Two young New Mexican golfers teed it up over the weekend in the regional qualifier for the 2024-2025 edition of the Drive, Chip & Putt competition at the Hualalai Golf Course in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Jason Tainter Jr., 11, and his sister Jordan, 7, successfully navigated the first two rounds of tournament, which took place at New Mexico State University’s golf course in June and August, in order to advance to this regional qualifier, one of 10 held nationally.

A joint initiative founded in 2013 by the Masters Tournament, United States Golf Association and The PGA of America, Drive, Chip & Putt is a free, nationwide golf skills development tournament with the goal of growing the sport by focusing on three fundamentals of golf — driving, chipping and putting.

Open to golfers ages 7-15, they compete in three rounds of qualifying. During each round, they are scored on their driving, chipping and putting ability. Each golfer is given the opportunity to hit three shots per category, and their cumulative scores determine their final position. The top scorer in age gender and age group is declared the winner of the qualifier round and advances to the final at Augusta National Golf Course ahead of The Masters Tournament in April 2025.

Unfortunately, neither Jason Jr. or Jordan was able to qualify for the finals. But the experience of playing together will always be something they cherish.

“I love playing with my sister,” Jason Jr. said.

“And I love playing with my brother,” Jordan said shortly after.

Spreading Halloween joy:

Last week, Spirit Halloween partnered with Presbyterian Hospital to host the hospital’s annual Halloween party. Pediatric patients at the hospital wore their costumes and painted pumpkins, carved pumpkins and played party games. Spirit Halloween is also partnering with Presbyterian on a fund-raising drive through October. Through their “Spirit of Children” program, customers can use a special coupon or the online promo code DONATE24 at checkout and receive 10% off their purchase.

The 10% they save is then donated to Presbyterian’s Child Life Program, which provides specialized care for pediatric patients and their families. The goal of the “Spirit of Children” program is to make hospitals less scary for kids and their families. Spirit has partnered with over 150 hospitals across the country, raising over $1 million for Presbyterian and over $127 million for hospitals nationwide since 2007.

Buckets of care:

The Catholic Charities of New Mexico is calling upon the community to help spread generosity this Halloween season, by inviting you to help assemble 150 trick-or-treat “boo buckets” for children experiencing poverty or housing insecurity. It takes place on Oct. 27 from 5-7 p.m. at Marble Brewery’s Northeast Heights Taproom located at 9904 Montgomery Blvd NE,, and these baskets will be given out to kids in the Catholic Charities’ Housing and Self-Sufficiency program. Each basket will be filled with candy, stickers and other goodies. Catholic Charities is asking the community to bring their own buckets and goodies.

“Events like this offer the community an opportunity to directly support children while having fun themselves in the process,” said Cami Mallory, director of community involvement at Catholic Charities. “Together, as one community, we can fight poverty and ensure all children experience joy.”

To register for the boo basket event, you can visit https://tinyurl.com/SpookyJoy.

Got some good news of your own?

Please don’t be shy. It’s time to brag about some of the good things in Albuquerque and beyond. You can email your good news ideas to goodnews@abqjournal.com.