AURELIUS - It was a spur of the moment suggestion at a Child Care Council of the Finger Lakes board meeting that led to a unique idea for a fundraiser last summer.

“One of our board members suggested a golf tournament,” said Cindy Smith, council executive director. “We thought that was a good idea, but then we thought, ‘wait a minute. Golf tournaments are really big,' then we thought why don't we miniaturize it?”

While it is not uncommon to see people hitting the links for enjoyment or to support a charity, the Child Care Council's “Fore” The Children Mini Golf Tournament, puts a whole new spin on the idea.

“It is something a little different,” Smith said. “Something fun for people to take part in, something a little different for a fundraiser.”

Smith said last year's debut tournament was a last minute effort, that unfortunately had a low turnout, but this year, a lot more time and planning went into it.

“We put a lot more promotion into it this year,” Smith said. “We had more time to plan and to get it out there in the paper and on the radio and let people know about it and I think it has worked out well.”

When the tournament kicked off at Thursday afternoon at Reese's Dairy Bar and Miniature Golf,more than 20 teams had preregistered and more came in throughout the afternoon.

“We have a really good turnout this year,” Smith said. “We have a lot of teams already signed up and people have been calling Reese's for the last few days to find out about it, so we should have a really good turn out this year.”

Mike Cullen, of Partnership For Results, brought along two children that participate in the program. Justin Grant, 14, of Auburn, and Matthew Weeks, 11, of Weedsport, were making their miniature golf debut.

“Our organization is one of the sponsors,” Cullen said. “So we decided to put a few teams together and I thought it would be a good idea to bring a few of the kids out.”

Both Grant and Weeks were quick learners.

“It is a lot of fun,” Weeks said. “I've never played before, but I'm learning pretty fast, it is a lot of fun.”

This year's tournament had a great amount of support from the local business community. A silent auction was held with items donated by local businesses. Many of the holes were sponsored.

Many of the sponsors also participated in the tournament. Kelly Holmes was captain of the Kohl's team of 13 players, which donated $500 to the Child Care Council.

“We're pretty happy,” Holmes said. “A lot of people were able to make it to play today and we were able to make a nice donation. We thought this would be something really nice to be able to help out with.”

Among those on the Kohl's team was Kansas Hahn, of Auburn.

“It is a great day to be outside,” Hahn said. “And this is a lot of fun and for a really good cause. I used to work in day care, so I'm really happy to be able to help out.”

The Child Care Council, which was founded in 1989, is dedicated to providing quality, affordable childcare resources in both Cayuga and Seneca counties.

Funds raised from Thursday's tournament will go to help continue to make that support possible.

“The money we raise will go to help support a variety of our programs,” Smith said. “Educational programs, child care programs, assistance for families that need child care, things like that. We're very pleased with the support we have received this year from all our sponsors and all the people playing today.”