Bass tourney to benefit Albany ARC

ALBANY — Officials with Albany Advocacy Resource Center landed the “big one” recently when the Albany Bass Club announced that proceeds from the club’s annual Team Bass Tournament would benefit AARC, the tournament’s 2019 hosting nonprofit.

Albany Advocacy Resource Center is the leading nonprofit provider of services in southwest Georgia for individuals with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs.

“This is a huge opportunity for us to grow and expand awareness of the service Albany ARC provides,” agency Executive Director DeAnna Julian said of the tie-in with the Albany Bass Cub tournament. “With this event being held at Lake Eufala, this will provide us an opportunity to talk about the services we provide to support citizens in our region with disabilities.

“Since this is a well-known, well-established tournament, we’re not going to have to work as hard make this a big success. What we want to do is work with the Albany Bass Club to do what they’ve been doing successfully for the past 42 years and to collaborate with them to expand what they’re doing.”

The annual Albany Bass Club Team Bass Tournament has become a signature event for the “anglers with a generous heart.” The club, founded in 1972 by a small group of charter members, is the oldest fishing club in Georgia. Since 1976, the Albany Bass Club has organized and hosted the Team Bass Tournament fundraiser, which benefits local charities and nonprofits.

“We are so proud and appreciative to have been chosen as the nonprofit that will benefit from this year’s tournament,” Julian said. “It’s my understanding that members of the Albany Bass Club interviewed representatives of several nonprofits before selecting our organization as the recipient of the tournament’s proceeds.”

For more than 50 years, Albany ARC has offered help and hope to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Though therapy, training, education and support services, Albany ARC creates life-changing solutions to help people with disabilities live, learn, work and play.

“We have 12 different programs that support people with disabilities in southwest Georgia,” Julian said. “We cover a 14-county area extensively, but we serve individuals from 34 different counties. Our goal is to help the individuals we serve became as integrated into society as fully as possible. We do that by providing services that help individuals with housing, employment, life skills, recreation, social activity, finances … pretty much everything that can help them lead their lives as independently as possible.

“We are always looking for partners and volunteers to help us support our mission and to increase community awareness of what we do at Albany ARC.”

Sponsorships for the 43rd Albany Bass Club Team Bass Tournament, which will be held on Lake Eufala at Lake Point State Park on March 30, are available on four levels: Presenting, $5,000; Gold, $2,500; Silver, $1,500 and Bronze, $500. Sponsors will be mentioned at various levels in tournament-related media and will receive other benefits associated with the tournament.

For more information, visit www.albanyarc.org,