Fundraising Fits Kevin Ketcho to a 'Tee'

Kevin Ketcho believes in giving back. He also believes in quality time with his kids. Over the years he has found a way to bring the two together and each year he is putting more and more into it.

The Kevin Ketcho Father/Son Golf Outing fundraiser got its first start about five years ago. He decided to plan a day where he could spend some quality time with his sons who were about to leave for college. Having just had lost his own father and his father-in-law, he was reminded of how important it is to spend time with one's kids.

Some of his friends joined in with their own sons. The next year more came along and it took off from there, he says. Today he has more than 40 fathers and sons participating in the event each year.

Ketcho gives a lot of credit to the local businesses that pitched in to help over the years. Businesses in Hasbrouck Heights especially have been good to him donating items or gift certificates which he gives away as prizes at the event. 

One year Inserra Supermarkets, owners the Shop Rite in Lodi, donated more than a $1,000 worth of food for the event. He was so grateful he decided to turn around and donate funds from the event to the Carl Inserra Leukemia Fund. Now he’s made the charity the beneficiary of the annual golf event.

Ketcho is not new to fundraising. By day he teaches business courses at Passaic Valley Regional High School where the students run their own real business. The businesses really do bring in money and he and his classes donate some of the profits to causes such as Relay for Life and Hey Jude.

He is already hard at work getting next year’s golf event off the ground. The date is already set – June 29, Ketcho says. Once again it will take place at the Shawnee Inn Golf Course on the Delaware River.  

Ketcho considers himself a novice golfer but the actual game play isn’t as important as spending time with his sons and friends and just having fun.

Many golf outing benefits can cost one close to the thousand dollar mark, but Ketcho has managed to charge around $100. Golfers get a breakfast, a barbecue a full day of game play and also go home with a handful of gifts which were all donated by local businesses, he says.

Interested in getting involved with the Kevin Ketcho Father Son Golf Fundraiser? Contact him at ketcho@­aol.­com.

Know of an individual, church group or organization in town doing something to help others? Let the editor know! Contact her at alana.quartuccio@patch.com