$881,000 Raised for St. Jude's Kids in Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament

The 4th Annual Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament wrapped up this Sunday at an Awards Ceremony at Classic Club, following a successful weekend of events in the desert that raised $881,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® – one of the world’s premier centers for research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other deadly diseases. 

The total funds raised were up more than $100,000 over last year’s proceeds.

The event had a record 650+ attendees to its Friday Night Celebrity Jam Session, featuring performances by Mickey Thomas (Starship), John Elefante (Kansas), Kim Carnes, Danny Seraphine (Chicago), Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Teri Nunn (Berlin), Dave Brock & Robbie Krieger (The Doors), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Steve Cropper (Blues Brothers) andHeadline News morning anchor, Robin Meade.

The weekend kicked off with an all-new event for the tournament known as Songwriters’ Night at the JW Marriott Desert Springs on Thursday, with a group of renowned Nashville songwriters including Tim Nichols, Rivers Rutherford, Jeff Hanna, Matraca Berg and Victoria Shaw telling the “story behind the story” of their biggest country hits.

While St. Jude is located in Memphis, the hospital’s research and treatments help kids worldwide including children from right here in the Coachella Valley – including local patient, Natalie Tanner, who attended the SaturdayNight Gala with her mother and brother. Natalie, who recently turned 7 and has been cancer free since her first birthday, flies to St. Jude tomorrow for another check-up.

Other celebrities who attended the events this weekend included actors Luke Perry, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Peter Gallagher, Richard Kind, Bruce Thomas, Raymond Cruz, Sam McMurray, and Oliver Hudson; former NFLs stars, Sterling Sharpe, Kordell Stewart and Jim McMahon, MLB pro, Steve Garvey, and NHL Hall of Famer, Grant Fuhr. 

The Palm Desert division of HighTower was presenting sponsor for the tournament, with the H.N. & Frances C. Berger Foundation serving as the Jam Session sponsor, Emerson Power sponsoring the Songwriters’ Night and Shakti Warriors as the sponsor of the Gala. Other sponsors included Castelli’s Ristorante, Sixwire, and Classic Club.

The Warburton Celebrity Golf Tournament is the second highest grossing golf tournament for St. Jude nationwide. For more information or to purchase tickets to any of the shows or register for the golf tournament, go to www.thewarburton.com.