Laura Carrillo Breast Cancer Foundation raises more than $20,000

The second golf tournament held in the Phoenix area to benefit the Laura B. Carrillo Breast Cancer Foundation raised more than $20,000 to support organizations fighting the dreaded disease.

Coupled with a tournament held in southern Arizona earlier this year, the Chandler-based foundation funded 40 mammograms for uninsured women at a September 24th event in Tucson.

The golf tournament, held September 10 at the Whirlwind Golf Club at the Wild Horse Pass resort south of Phoenix, drew 272 golfers with Sunflower Markets as the premier sponsor.

The foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit named for Laura B. Carrillo, who lost her fight with breast cancer at the age of 36, in October 2004. The foundation is the brainchild of Ralph Carrillo, Laura’s widower, and his cousin Kathy Espinosa, who has organized fundraising events that have raised more than $130,000 over the last seven years, mostly benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization.

The fundraisers were begun as a way of raising the entry fee for Espinosa to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Espinoza’s husband Ron, an avid golfer, helped organize the first fund-raising golf outing, drawing 80 golfers.

Some 200 players took part in the golf tournament at the Tubac Golf Resort in June in addition to the September event in the Phoenix-area. Plans are to continue holding golf events in southern Arizona and the Phoenix area each June and September.

For more information on the Laura B. Carrillo Foundation, visit www.laurabcarrillobreastcancerfoundation.com or contact Ralph Carrillo at 480.917.9418 or ralphcarrillo@gmail.com.