Golf Tournament to Benefit Bloomingdale Library Attack Survivor

VALRICO, FL -- It was a shocking crime that still reverberates throughout the community to this day.

On the night of April 24, 2008, an East Bay High School senior was returning books to the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library drop box. While using her cell phone, she told a friend she saw a man sitting on a bench outside the library.

The call was disconnected at 10:39 p.m. after the friend heard her scream. She had been brutally raped, suffering a fractured skull and multiple strokes from an attempted strangulation. Her 15-year-old attacker was eventually convicted of kidnapping with intent to commit a felony, two counts of sexual battery and aggravated battery.

Eight years on, the family of Queena, known to many as the Bloomingdale Library Rape Survivor, will host “The Hope Classic,” a benefit golf tournament that will help pay for her continuing medical, therapy and home health care expenses.

The tournament is scheduled for Sunday, July 31 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Topgolf, 10690 Palm River Road in Tampa. Registration for the event has been extended until Sunday, July 24.

Click here to register for or to sponsor The Hope Classic. Donations can also be made through the event’s Eventbrite page.

The registration fees for the tournament are $400 for a party of six, $75 for an individual and $30 for a spectator and dinner only. The fees include awards, a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction, a private cash bar, a golf pro instructor, an all-American dinner buffet plus greens feels.

Walk-on registration is available, but will be limited and not guaranteed.

Although she still cannot walk, talk, see or eat on her own, Queena’s extensive therapy has helped her with non-verbal communication, such as widening her eyes, smiling and clenching her fists, according to her family. Medicade covers only $1,500 per year of the $70,000 per year it costs them for all of her treatments. State funding for her home health care will soon be cut in half as well.

The Hope Classic will be the first event put on by Hope Heals The Brain Inc., a non-profit organization founded by Queena’s sister, Anna. The goal of the organization is to help raise funds and awareness for families and individuals affected by traumatic brain injury in Central Florida. All registration feels and donations for the golf tournament are tax-deductible.

For more information about Queena, visit www.JoinQueena.com. For more information about player registration or sponsorship for The Hope Classic, contact Anna at avdonato1@gmail.com.

Image via Shutterstock

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