July 10, 2001

SANTEE -- When Debbie Wilson's teen-age son nearly died of complications from heatstroke two years ago, a platoon of family members and good Samaritans took care of the children, dogs, laundry and meals while she and her husband hovered over their son's hospital bed.

Those acts of kindness kept the family connected and helped Wilson cope.

So the day after the Santana High School shootings, Wilson and her brother-in-law, Rick Boster, started calling people to help "as many Santee students affected by the shooting as possible," Wilson said.

The result: a fund-raising golf tournament July 21 and an organization called "A Community Connected" to continue the philanthropic effort.

"A lot of teen-agers are still very tense and still very hurt by this whole thing," said Wilson, whose son, Kevin, graduated from Santana last month.

"We're all kind of one big family here, and we're stuck with this big, ugly situation and we're all trying to do something to help."

The group of parents, business owners and neighbors are hoping the golf tournament will be an annual event to raise scholarship money to help the four siblings of the two boys slain by a fellow student. The money collected also will be available in scholarships to others affected by the March 5 shootings.

"We need to let these kids know that, as adults, we really do care. We really do," Boster said.

Santee's East County Memorial Scholarship Fund tournament will be held at 2 p.m. July 21 at Carlton Oaks Country Club, 9200 Inwood Drive, Santee.

The cost is $120 per player. Registration will begin at noon. A putting contest will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Dinner is included. For those who prefer dinner only, the cost is $30 per person.

Prizes, dinner and some of the costs of sponsoring the tournament have been funded by donations from businesses and people from around the county. Donations are still being accepted.

"What our goal is, is that everybody who golfs comes away with some kind of prize," Wilson said.

For more information, call Wilson at (619) 449-7770; Boster at (619) 562-6888; or the country club pro shop at (619) 448-8500.

The scholarship fund will be handled by the Santee Youth Foundation, a nonprofit organization. All checks should be made out to the foundation, P.O. Box 712301, Santee, CA 92072.