Sinking a putt will put a smile on a golfer’s face at the Lake Travis Crisis Ministries golf tournament, but a gallery of families in need will be cheering for the support.

The Oct. 25 tournament is the ministry’s largest public fundraiser, and proceeds will help support its services. The shotgun scramble will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Falconhead Golf Club. Golfers will have the chance to drill a hole-in-one shot for $10,000.
Entrance fees are $125 per person or $600 for a foursome. Hole sponsorships are $125. Registration and sponsorship deadlines are Oct. 20. Lake Travis United Methodist Church, Lakeway Church and Emmaus Catholic Parish are the tournament sponsors.
An awards dinner the evening of the tournament will feature raffle giveaways and a silent auction with prizes including a week at a Sedona, Ariz. resort and a foursome at The University of Texas Golf Club in Steiner Ranch.
“The [tournament’s] focus is to make sure people understand Lake Travis Crisis Ministries is meeting a need a lot of people don’t even realize exists, and it’s growing,” said Jim Miles, tournament chair and volunteer. “Where are these people? They are right around us, but we don’t even see them. Unfortunately they are invisible to a lot of us. This is a way to see them.”
Lake Travis Crisis Ministries has been serving clients in the Lakeway area for more than 20 years, but providing food, financial and counseling services isn’t getting any easier.
The demand for these services is increasing for individuals and families who need a little help for a little while to get back on their feet.
“It’s not meant to be long-term chronic support. The idea is not to keep people in effect trapped by the system but to help them stay out of the system because of problems they have run into through loss of job, family dysfunction or whatever it might be,” Miles said.
The outreach is based out of a storefront location in the Liberty shopping center and serves clients living within the Lake Travis ISD attendance boundary. It depends solely on volunteers who meet with clients and counsel them on how to obtain employment or overcome persistent financial difficulties or domestic issues by attending education classes, support groups or Bible studies.
“People who are in crisis are in crisis, and they don’t control the calendar. These are good people. These are people whose lives, for whatever reason, have come apart suddenly, and this is a place at least where they can start putting the pieces back together,” Miles said.
The ministry asks clients to come no more than twice a month for services.
“Sometimes they come here more. If it’s for food, we won’t turn them down,” volunteer Bill Freas said.
Volunteers pick up food from various agencies, including the Capitol Area Food Bank, H-E-B and Panera Bread in Bee Cave and several churches, and stock the shelves. They also take in donations from the Lake Travis Thrift Shop and individuals.
“We have a great need for volunteers,” Freas said
Capitol Area Food Bank is the ministry’s biggest source of food, but its supplies are not free. It was closed for a week recently, which taxed the ministry’s inventory.
“Our shelves are pretty darn empty,” Freas said last week.
For information on the Lake Travis Crisis Ministries Benefit Golf Tournament and Dinner, call Miles at 791-5174. For information on Lake Travis Crisis Ministries, call 266-9810 or visit www.laketraviscrisisministries.org.
The location at 107 RR 620 S., Suite 114, is open 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m.-noon Thursdays.