Pro hockey hall-of-famer Grant Fuhr, whose recovery from substance use issues now motivates his advocacy for others, is hosting a celebrity golf tournament in April that will benefit the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
Celebrities expected to participate include fellow hockey hall-of-famers Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull; baseball legends Ken Griffey, Jr., Johnny Damon and Vince Coleman; and NFL greats Marshall Faulk, Sterling Sharpe and Jim McMahon, as well as several other actors, athletes and musicians.
Originally planned for 2020 and postponed twice due to the pandemic, the inaugural Grant Fuhr Celebrity Invitational will be held April 16-17—with robust safety protocols in place—at Desert Dunes Golf Club in Desert Hot Springs, just 19 miles north of the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage. The Betty Ford Center, recently recognized by Newsweek as the top addiction treatment facility in California, is part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit system of addiction treatment, co-occurring mental health care, recovery resources and related prevention and education services. All proceeds from the golf event will support the organization’s work helping individuals, families and communities overcome addiction.
“Recovery enabled me to resume my hockey career and now enables me to enjoy a positive, productive and fulfilling post-hockey life. I’m grateful, and hope that by bringing some friends together to have fun on the golf course and support the Betty Ford Center, we can help other people find recovery and improve their lives, too,” said Fuhr, who is now Desert Dunes Golf Club’s director of golf.
The tournament will take place in the midst of the greatest addiction and mental health crisis in generations, greatly exacerbated by COVID-19 and all of its related stressors, said Greg Fisher, principal and executive director of development for Hazelden Betty Ford.
“All of us at Hazelden Betty Ford are thrilled to be the beneficiary of this exciting event, which will help us provide lifesaving care at a time when more people than ever are struggling,” Fisher said. “Grant Fuhr’s passionate commitment to being of service, carrying a message of hope, and giving back is a powerful example of recovery being about much more than sobriety. We deeply appreciate his thoughtful generosity and also that of his spouse and business partner Lisa Fuhr, Desert Dunes Golf Club owners Lina and Michael Chiappetta, and everyone else who is supporting and participating in the tourney.”
The Chiappettas donated use of their golf club so that all proceeds would benefit Hazelden Betty Ford, Fisher said.
Fuhr was a six-time all-star goalie and five-time Stanley Cup champion for the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers. He became the first Black player elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named one of the 100 greatest NHL players ever in 2017. A documentary, Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story, premiered last year, chronicling Fuhr’s incredible hockey career as well as his recovery journey.
Anyone interested in playing in the celebrity tournament, or donating without attending, can register or donate at GrantFuhrCelebrityInvitational.com/registration.
