Auction, golf tournament raise money for kids

Two fans will have the opportunity to travel with Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo and his team to a road game next season, thanks to sizeable donations to a foundation designed to help families cope with the sudden loss of a parent.

MSU and radio partner WJR-AM 760 are in their fourth year as presenting sponsors for the two-day Champions for the Kids VIP Dinner/Auction and Golf Tournament, the signature event for Yatooma’s Foundation for the Kids. Although Izzo couldn’t make this year’s event, which took place Sunday and Monday at the Townsend Hotel and at Oakland Hills Country Club, in past years he has performed a few numbers on stage with a live band after dinner.

Spartan football broadcaster George Blaha was on one of the winning groups in the golf tournament.

During a live auction Sunday night, two fans contributed $43,000 each to travel with the Spartans’ basketball team, participate in pre-game events and sit near the bench during the game.

Jeff Feltrin of Oakland Township was one of the winners, and he hopes to go to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game this fall.
“I know North Carolina’s coming up, so I put my name in the hat for that one,” Feltrin said. “I’m just waiting to hear back. … But just traveling with the team and sitting on the bench during the game will be great.”
Feltrin isn’t an MSU alum but said he is a longtime Spartans basketball fan.
“We were able to raise a lot of money for the charity, so that’s the most important part,” he said.

Birmingham lawyer Norman Yatooma, who lost his father to gun violence when he was 20, created the foundation to help families cope after the sudden loss of a parent.

Contact SHANNON SHELTON: 313-223-3215 or slshelton@freepress.com.