An old professional golf adage states, "You drive for show, and you putt for dough," meaning that while long tee shots wow onlookers, putting is where the money is made.

In this case, all the dough is going to local charities.

The third annual Putting for Miracles Charity Mini-Golf & Cornhole Tournaments will be held Saturday, June 7, at Leisure Bowling & Golf Center, 3440 Columbia Ave., Lancaster.

Preregistration is strongly encouraged. People will be able to register at 9 a.m. on the day of the event if there are spots open. For more information or to register, go to http://www.puttingformiracles.com or email puttingformiracles@gmail.com.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and will end when the tournaments have been completed. There will be prizes for winners of both the golf and cornhole tournaments.

There is a fee to participate in the golf event and cornhole tournament, but everyone is invited to visit the vendors and food trucks and buy tickets for a chance to win prizes.

Food trucks will be on-site selling barbecue sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, ice cream, and coffee. Event founder David Chobanoff said he is expecting at least 30 vendors that will sell a variety of items.

Proceeds will be split between Penn State Health Children's Hospital and the Hudsen Memorial Ride in the first event since Putting for Miracles became a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, David said.

The Hudsen Memorial Ride is a motorcycle ride in remembrance of Hudsen Wolfe, who passed away on Sept. 5, 2017, at the age of 8 after a battle with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an aggressive brain cancer that primarily affects children.

At the suggestion of his friend Ben Tolson, David first became involved by raising money for the Children's Miracle Network's (CMN) Extra Life program, where people generate funds by gaming for 24-hour periods.

Three years ago, David and his wife, Stacy, were selected to represent Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at a conference in Orlando, where he met Travis Miller. Miller had become both rich and famous after monetizing a social media site called PGA (Professional Golfers Association) Memes, which makes fun of professional golfers, and began holding golf tournaments around the country to raise money for CMN.

Miller spoke about "The Power of One," and that message resonated with David. "I got goosebumps while he was talking," David said. "I thought, 'That's me in my living room (playing video games to raise money).'"

David introduced himself to Miller, and Miller told David about Play Yellow, a CMN program endorsed by iconic golfer Jack Nicklaus and his wife, Barbara, and the PGA Tour.

In August 2022, three months after that meeting, David and Stacy held a trial event, which raised more than $5,000. The following May, the Chobanoffs held the first official Putting for Miracles event, which generated $10,000, and last year's edition collected more than $11,000 despite rain.

He remembers a radio station broadcasting stories of kids who had benefited from CMN. David, who lives in Marietta, is both moved and motivated by the personal stories he's heard firsthand.

When he was 5 years old, Gavin Gilhool fell out of a second-story window while roughhousing with his brothers and recovered with support from CMN. Gilhool attends the Putting for Miracles events and met David last year. "I told Gavin that his story inspired us," David said.

A child of David's friend Jen Gulbrandsen was also a Miracle child.

"I've been doing this for a decade, and now some of the kids are graduating college," David said. "People come up to me and say, 'You helped me when I was a child.' I still get a little humbled when I hear thank yous from the family."