South Orange Invitational charity golf event returns May 23 to benefit Cinema Ed

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SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — After being postponed last September due to Hurricane Ida, the fourth annual South Orange Invitational charity golf event is returning on Monday, May 23, to raise money for Cinema Ed, a local nonprofit organization. The full day golf event has already booked more than 80 golfers and will take place at the East Orange Golf Course, 440 Parsonage Hill Road in Short Hills, starting at 1 p.m. Register ahead of time at so-invitational.org.

Cinema Ed provides local, underrepresented high school students with a variety of intensive programs designed to teach them the skills they need to craft their own independent films and find work in the film and television industry. These programs also provide them with the opportunity to work on specific film projects with professional filmmakers while also focusing on their studies in all areas of their high school curriculum. The proceeds from this year’s event will go toward additional resources for students, such as mentors, MacBooks and iPads, that will allow CinemaEd’s programs to expand and reach a greater number of student filmmakers.

Founded in 2017 by South Orange Village President Sheena C. Collum and former Trustee Deborah Davis Ford, the South Orange Invitational was initiated to provide a fun day of friends, golf and dinner while raising money for nonprofit organizations serving the local community. 

“Even if you are a non-golfer, you can still come in the evening and enjoy a wonderful dinner,” Davis Ford said. “There will be prizes for shots closest to the pin and longest drive among others, as well as a silent auction and raffle. Please come out and support Cinema Ed, a wonderful local South Orange nonprofit.”

“An engaged student is a learning student, and being directly involved in the making of an independent film, learning from professionals how to tell a story, re-write a script, do a production schedule and budget, and actually shoot the film, is a powerful way to engage and provide students not only with the technical skills but also with self-efficacy, which improves their schoolwork in all subjects,” Cinema Ed founder and Executive Director Richard Stephen Bell said.

Photos Courtesy of Richard Stephen Bell

  Cinema Ed, East Orange Golf Course