Working with disabled children and those with special needs was a goal of Peder Hedberg, a 2004 graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School.
But Hedberg’s dream was cut short in 2009 when the bile duct disease and cancer he was battling were determined to be terminal, according to his mother, Hope Hedberg.
His death in 2010 led to the creation of the Peder Hedberg Foundation. The nonprofit supports Christian camps and work that “values and uplifts children with disabilities,” according to its website, www.pederhedbergfoundation.org.
“When somebody dies that young … just short of his 24th birthday, you want them to be remembered,” Hope Hedberg said.
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To benefit the foundation, Hope Covenant Church in Orland Park next month will host the 5th Annual Hope Covenant Golf Classic. It is set for Sept. 12.
Check-in will begin with breakfast at 8 a.m. at the church, 14401 West Ave., event organizer Matt Windle said. Welcome bags will be given at check-in.
The tournament begins with a 9 a.m. shotgun start at Palos Country Club, 13100 Southwest Highway, Orland Park. Windle said the cost is $65 per golfer.
Golfers will play a nine-hole, four-person scramble format. The cost includes use of a cart.
Lunch, award presentations, a silent auction and a raffle drawing at Hope Covenant Church will follow the golf tournament.
Windle said the golf outing, which began as a recreational outing in 2010, became a fundraiser in 2011 to support the foundation of Paul and Hope Hedberg, who are members of the church.
Their son earned a degree in business from North Park University in Chicago, but before Peder could go back to school and begin his studies in elementary and special education, he had to undergo treatment for cancer. Peter also had primary sclerosing cholangitis, which according to the American Liver Foundation is a disease that damages the bile ducts and can lead to bile duct cancer.
Hope said she and Paul wanted to do something to honor their son’s memory and his dreams for the future.
“He gave a lot to other people, and so we thought it would be pretty cool to remember him and do a lot for others as well,” she said.
Since 2011, the Peder Hedberg Foundation has awarded more than $150,000 to various organizations and individuals engaged in activities that were meaningful to Peder, Hope Hedberg said. More than $62,000 has gone to the Pilgrim Pines Conference Center in Swanzey, N.H., which hosts Christian children and youth camps and men’s and women’s conferences. Peder, his brother Eric, 32, and Paul went to camp there, and Peder and Eric also worked at the camp for several summers, Hope Hedberg said.
The Tinley Park-based South Suburban Special Recreation Association has received nearly $60,000. Peder worked with the disabled and special-needs children and adults there for four summers while he was an H-F student, Hope Hedberg said. Also, nearly two dozen scholarships totaling $30,000 have gone to students from H-F, North Park University and Seton Hall University who are pursuing a degree in elementary and special education, Hedberg said. Peder attended Seton Hall before graduating from North Park.
“The reason for the academic scholarships is that after Peder graduated from North Park University with a degree in finance, he wanted to go back to school and get a certificate to teach elementary and special ed,” Hedberg said. “That never happened.”
To register for the golf outing, email Windle at [email protected] or call (708) 846-9501.
For more information about the Peder Hedberg Foundation, visit www.pederhedbergfoundation.org.
Ginger Brashinger is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.