DOWAGIAC — Saturday evening, the golf course at the Dowagiac Elks will be lit up to raise money for Dowagiac Union High School seniors.

Dowagiac Celebration Graduation 2019 will host its first official fundraiser Saturday. The group will be hosting a “glow golf” event at the Dowagiac Elk’s Golf Course, 300 Riverside Dr. The event will begin with a dinner at 6 p.m. with a night round of golf to follow after at approximately 7:15 p.m. Cost is $30 per person, which includes dinner, a round of golf and cart.

Currently, there are limited spots available for teams of four. The event is restricted to those 21 years of age or older.

“It should be a lot of fun,” said Dowagiac Celebration Graduation 2019 committee member Erica Pye. “And it is for our kids.”

Celebration Graduation is a spin off of a nation-wide program where parents of the high school graduating class raise money to provide seniors with a fun, safe and supervised party on graduation.

“It’s an all-night event that goes to multiple places and is really fun for the graduating seniors,” Pye said. “The money we raise goes toward buses, it pays for the different venues and other expenses.”

For the “glow golf” fundraiser, the committee hopes to raise $1,000 of the total $33,000 goal. The event will be a nighttime golf outing featuring a lighted course, glow sticks and glow in the dark golf balls.

Pye said the idea to host “glow golf” came out during a meeting with Dowagiac Celebration Graduation 2019 committee members. With the concept being so fun, Pye said that the committee ran with the idea.

“We were looking to do something different, and we knew the Elks had hosted ‘glow golf’ before, so we thought, ‘what if we do this?’” she said. “It just stuck.”

A mother of two graduating seniors, Pye said she is proud that she is able to work toward providing them with a memorable and safe graduation night through Celebration Graduation.

“I thinks it’s really cool, because this isn’t something that was in effect when I graduated from Dowagiac,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to give the kids a good night out before they get out into the real world.”

She said she hopes others will also support the graduating class by attending the “glow golf” event.

“It’s going to be a good time,” Pye said. “And you are also supporting the graduating class of Dowagiac High School.”

To RSVP, contact Celebration Graduation 2019 on their Facebook page or email Pye at epye812@gmail.com.