Local charities seek share of $1.5 million

The Special Olympics, Busch Wildlife and Susan G. Komen South Florida are among two dozen charities that are a step closer to winning part of $1.5 million in the Wellington-based Great Charity Challenge.

The 24 Palm Beach County nonprofits were chosen at random Saturday night during the Holiday and Horses Grand Prix at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Those groups are in addition to the Wellington Public Schools PTA/PTO/PTSA, which is automatically entered each year.

Equestrian mogul Mark Bellissimo, his wife, Katherine, and daughter Paige founded the event and were on hand Saturday as the charities’ names were read aloud. The Bellissimos started the fundraiser eight years ago to help local groups hit hard by the recession.

Nearly $11 million has been distributed to 220 organizations through the challenge.

About 330 charities applied for the challenge, and more charities will be added to the list with random drawings during Winter Equestrian Festival events, plus two wild card teams chosen at the challenge finale.

That finale will be Feb. 3 during one of the Winter Equestrian Festival’s Saturday Night Lights events. It features a show-jumping showdown, where each charity is randomly assigned to an equestrian team. The winning charity takes home $150,000, and the charity in last place receives $15,000.

For more information, go to www.greatcharitychallenge.com.