Thirty years ago, Harry “Skip” Wells started the Home’s annual golf tournament. He assembled friends for a full day of golf benefiting the children served by The Home. Three decades later and now known as The Wells Cup, the event is stronger than ever. This year, more than 150 golfers gathered at Black Rock Country Club to help create better, brighter futures for the kids in our communities. On this 30th anniversary, Skip, a former board chair, volunteer, mentor and longtime supporter of The Home reflects on the event, our agency as a whole, and the personal reasons he is so devoted to this cause.
HFLW: How did your involvement with The Home begin?
SW: There were two driving forces behind my work at The Home. Over 50 years ago, the chairman of my firm served on the board of The Home. At that time, there was a Directors’ Club that, through gala social events, raised money to support children at Longview Farm, The Home’s program in Walpole. The group had fallen on hard times, and he asked me to start it up again. Back then, I did not have any money nor did the other young guys that I knew. So, we volunteered once a month as a big-brother group instead, by playing baseball, football, basketball and a myriad of other activities. The “new” Directors Club is still alive and well after 53 years.
HFLW: And the second force?
SW: In 1971, my bride, Joan, and I adopted our daughter, Jill, from The Home. In addition to being a super daughter, she is an outgoing and outstanding mother, teacher and volunteer in her family’s town of Milford, Michigan.
HFLW: You launched The Home’s annual golf tournament 30 years ago, and it is now called The Wells Cup to reflect your incredible contributions. What was your starting vision for the event?
SW: The original idea was to find 40-50 no-name golfers who loved to play golf and knew the positive power of generosity. In addition to benefiting The Home, which has always had a super reputation, we had the advantage of offering our fundraisers a chance to play 36 holes. After golf, and over cocktails, we had a tremendous time telling stories. The cause and the events produced a great day. As golfers left, the common comment was: “Make sure you invite me next year.” Fortunately, over the last 15 years or so, Michael Dunn, Ian Macduff and Michelle McDonough have taken the tournament to a much higher level.
HFLW: You were Chair of The Home at a pivotal point in our organization’s history. Can you tell us about that time of unprecedented growth?
SW: In 1999, The Home’s revenue was roughly 12 million dollars. A group of us thought we would either have to A) shrink our programs and rely solely on our endowment for funding or B) become a much larger organization through acquisitions to attract better leadership and have a seat at the table when the state was setting policy and allocating funding. We took the latter path and executed three mergers: Charles River Health Management, Parents and Children’s Services, and, most importantly, Boston Children’s Services. The net result was that we quadrupled the revenue and doubled our endowment, setting the stage for The Home today.
HFLW: In addition to expanding your family through The Home, you have also developed The Home family by connecting the next generation of philanthropists to our organization, including board member and Wells Cup Ace Sponsor, Michelle McDonough.
SW: Before becoming a full-time employee at our firm, Michelle started as an intern. Michelle was easily the most difficult employee that I ever supervised; I would take some time to think of a task that I thought would take her all day, and she would finish and be back in two hours. Through hard work, a positive attitude, and the ability to focus on the critical variable, Michelle has been incredibly successful. Most importantly, she is a very generous person.
HFLW: To date, The Home’s golf tournament has raised over $6 million to support our programs. How does it feel to celebrate its 30th anniversary?
SW: It is very rewarding. You don’t have many golf tournaments that last for 30 years. I have always believed that every kid deserves his or her best shot at the starting line in life. That is what The Home provides, and that mission resonates with people.
