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Not many 17-year-olds can say they’ve hung out on the field before a Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
But that was exactly what Ben Sater was doing July 12 in St. Louis, minutes before President Barack Obama threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.
Such an experience is one of the few things that could’ve prevented the Plano resident from joining the 108 North Texas kids at the second annual KidSwing-McKinney Golf Tournament at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club.
The nine-hole, best-ball scramble for children ages 7 to 18 was similar to the KidSwing golf tournament in Dallas, which Sater founded in 2003 to give back to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, after the former patient discovered as an 10-year old that the hospital does not charge patients’ families for care.
A day before Sater accepted an honor at the game from People magazine’s All-Stars Among Us for his work with KidSwing, the McKinney tournament raised $16,359.14 to benefit Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.
The latest contribution brings the total to $796,000 that KidSwing tournaments in Dallas and McKinney have raised for the hospital in only seven years (the Kidswing-Dallas event in June brought in $122,678.91).
“KidSwing is a great event where the community can come together with kids, their parents, the community leaders, businesses and all support a great cause – Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children,” said John Wise, chairman of KidSwing-McKinney. “The kids really learn about giving back to the community and what it’s all about to work for a goal.”
There was no entry fee to play in the tournament, but children who participated were encouraged to set a goal of $100 for the hospital by asking their family and friends to sponsor them.
One KidSwing-McKinney foursome, Team El Dorado, was especially creative in its fundraising for the hospital.
The four children, Nathan Czuwala, 11, Daniel Czuwala, 9, Brittney Bruce, 10, and Brooke Nolte, 11, all McKinney residents and members of the North Texas Junior PGA tournament, decided that they would challenge the members at their local country club to a chipping and putting contest.
After working two days at the club, the foursome raised $1,188 trading cookies for cash and is already looking forward to next year’s tournament, saying that they want to begin in March to donate even more funds to the hospital.
“If the adults won, they got a cookie and if the kids won, the adults make a donation,” Nolte said. “It meant a lot to raise money for Scottish Rite Hospital because we raised money for kids our age, to help them.”
And, although 10-year-old Colin Ashlock of Sherman, a hospital patient and tournament participant, couldn’t decide what his favorite thing was about the hospital because they’re “all my favorite,” he was certain that there was nothing more fun than raising funds for the hospital playing the game he loves.
“It means [a lot] to me because I want to help people that have the same problem as me. I want to help them get better,” Ashlock said.
“I just love playing golf.”
For more information on KidSwing or KidSwing-McKinney, visit kidswing.org.
Information for this story provided by Melinda Wenk, who handles public relations for the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.
Submitted photos by the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
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