The Jill E. Harrington Hanzalik Memorial Fund has helped others achieve their dreams since 2010, and it has come from the generosity of others. On June 24, the non-profit organization will hold its largest fundraising event of the year with the eighth annual JEHH Memorial Golf Tournament at the Mount Snow Golf Course in West Dover, Vt.
All the money raised will go right back into the community where Harrington Hanzalik was born and raised. The JEHH Memorial Fund will use all the proceeds raised from the golf tournament to rebuild the basketball court and other things at the Northfield Elementary School.
The foundation was started in 2010 to honor the memory of Harrington Hanzalik, who married Joe Hanzalik in 2009 and gave birth to their first child, Chase Thomas Hanzalik on April 26, 2010. Mother and child both passed away minutes apart that day due to complications during the birth.
Brothers Adam Harrington and Kevin Harrington wanted to honor the memory of their sister. Adam Harrington said his sister, who graduated from Pioneer in 1994 and UMass in 1998, was instrumental in helping him to achieve his dream of playing in the NBA. Harrington Hanzalik used her sport-management degree to land a job in the NBA’s home office in New York City, and later served as a personal assistant to Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
It was her giving nature that inspired the brothers to create the JEHH Memorial Fund, which uses money to help others achieve their dreams. Grants are awarded for various amounts of money, but the fund also helps give back to communities.
In 2012, the JEHH Memorial Fund spent roughly $50,000 to refurbish the Bernardston Elementary School basketball and tennis courts. That also included putting in a garden at the school, which Snow & Son’s Landscapping continues to help keep beautiful, according to Adam Harrington.
Adam Harrington said that the money raised from the golf tournament will go toward doing a similar project at Northfield Elementary.
“I’ve always gone to the root of why we originally wanted to start this foundation,” he said. “I remember my dream of playing in the NBA, and how close I was with my sister and how she supported me. That was the gist of the foundation: doing all these things to help people achieve their dreams.”
The JEHH Memorial Golf Tournament is the signature event and there is still room for foursomes to sign up. Cost is $560 per team and includes an 11 a.m. shotgun start. There will be music and a bagel bar at the sign-in, and there will also be food stations every four holes for participants. The tournament has a number of sponsors helping enhance the event. Hillside Pizza and Stop & Shop are among those providing food, Frito Lay is the snack sponsor, and Pepsi and Aquafina are the drink sponsors. The event will also include silent-auction items, such as meet and greets with the Boston Celtics, items signed by professional golfers like Ricky Fowler and Jason Dufner, and a number of other items. The day concludes with a cocktail hour and dinner.
The tournament always attracts notable people. Dufner has golfed at the event several times, and a number of Harrington’s NBA friends have also participated, such as two-time NBA champion Mike Miller. Harrington said he was not sure who would be on hand this year.
Anyone who does take part in the tournament will get their name on a sign that will hang at Northfield Elementary. Included on that sign will be Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, as well as NBA players Scott Brooks, Jeremy Lin, Steve Nash and Kevin Durant, all of whom have already donated money.
“We’ve rasied quite a bit of money so far,” Harrington said. “My whole goal with the golf tournament was to make this the best one yet.”
Harrington said he wants to continually out-do himself when putting together the tournament, because a number of the teams that sign up have been there every year.
“They have made an effort to come and support this event for eight years,” Harrington said. “None of this is possible without that support. There are probably 20 teams who have come to all eight tournaments.”
With that in mind, there will also be groups of school children working the event as a way to say “Thank you.” Harrington said that a group from Bernardston Elementary will be on hand, as will another from Northfield, thanking people in advance.
“We want to inspire the next generation of kids to give back,” Harrington said. “If this encourages one kid to give back or believe that they can make a difference in their community, then you’ve won.”
The foundation is far from done giving back after it completes the Northfield Elementary project. The JEHH Memorial Fund is always looking for ideas and proposals, and people can send those in through the fund’s website at www.chaseyourdreamsnow.org. People can also find out more about the golf tournament through the website, as well as the fund’s other big fundraiser, a 5K road race, which has been moved to September this year, after previously being held in the spring.
As for Harrington, he is in the second year of a three-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, where he serves as an assistant coach and Director of Player Development.
“I kind of have one of my dream jobs,” Harrington said. “We have a great young staff, and it’s a unique opportunity for me.”
Harrington had been working closely as a trainer for NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant as well as other NBA and WNBA athletes prior to landing the job in Brooklyn. He also did consulting for the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. Now, he and wife Kearstin Harrington, along with children Jayden (10 years old), Jaxon (5), Jonah (3) and Jill (born March 22) live in New Jersey, which Harrington said is great because they are both closer to their families.
He is currently busy running workouts for the Nets’ draft. And even though Brooklyn will be without one very popular pick — that first overall pick traded to the Boston Celtics — they still have a pair of first rounders, the 22nd and 27th picks.
A lot going on, but Harrington still has time to give back to the community he grew up in. All in his sister’s honor.
To register for the golf tournament and for more information, visit the website at www.chaseyourdreamsnow.org.