Golf Classic Raises Funds For MLK Children’s Library

Article Date: June 22, 2007

By Bob Otto, Fontana Herald News

When Acquantetta Warren mentioned, “It’s for the kids,” that’s all Greg Bell needed to hear.

Bell, a former NFL all-pro running back with the Rams and Raiders, supports projects that benefit children. So when Warren, a member of the Fontana City Council, asked Bell to be the chairman of the 2007 MLK Golf Classic Tournament, Bell jumped on board.

“Anything good for kids, I’m all for it,” said Bell. “That is her dream, her passion, and that hooked me.”

Warren’s dream and passion? The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Children’s Library. The library will be a part of the Lewis Library and Technology Center in downtown Fontana, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007.

Warren, along with Captain Rodney Jones of the Fontana Police Department, decided to stage a fundraising event for the children’s library. And in order to draw as many people as possible, they decided on a golf tournament, with the Red Hill Country Club agreeing to host the event on June 18.

Warren set the fundraising goal very high-- $1 million. Donations have poured in, including $100,000 each from Reggie King of Young Homes and Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales, with $50,000 coming from Burrtec Waste Industries, Inc.

“People that generous want to make Fontana a special place,” said Warren. Although Warren has pressed the need to raise money for the library, she has another ideal in mind.

“The average child under age 14 doesn’t know how important Dr. King was to our society,” said Warren. She envisions the library as a gathering place where children of all races learn together, play together, and become friends together. A place where they can all get along, as Dr. King once dreamed.

Bell shares the same concern for children. In 1989, he founded Athletics for Life, a non-profit organization that mentors at-risk teens about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

“Martin Luther King was all about helping people (who are) struggling,” said Bell. These are the kinds of things former athletes should be doing, working with kids.”

Nearly 150 golfers signed up for the tournament. Golfers came from throughout California and out of state-- as far as Hawaii, said Warren.

“This is for a great cause,” said golfer Stan Sowa, representing the Scott Case Co. “I’ve seen the plans of the library. It’s going to be beautiful.”

As Ike Harper and his wife Marilyn bought tickets for a drawing and prepared to tee up, Ike Harper called the event a great tribute to children. “They’re our future,” he said.

Drawings and live auctions were held for prizes such as Super Bowl tickets, tickets to Notre Dame football games, an autographed jersey from San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson, and golf equipment. The winners of the golf tournament won plaques and gift cards.

For Bell, the event was all about supporting children and a big, beautiful children’s library.

“It will be their home,” he said. “A place of peace, exemplifying Dr. King’s dream. When the library gets christened, I’ll be there.”

To learn more about helping the children’s library, visit Warren’s web site at www.acquanetta.org.