According to Char Kuchta, one of the things her late son, Kyle, loved most was playing basketball.
After he passed away in 2017, Kuchta stayed connected with the Berkshire Badgers basketball programs and the Badger girls are now hosting a three-point fundraiser this season to donate funds to the Kyle Strong Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Geauga County, as part of the Lady Badgers Charity Challenge.
“I think it is very exciting because from my point of view it is the girls and students who initiated it,” Kuchta told The Weekly Villager. “It was not me coming in and saying I am having a fundraiser, they initiated it. It is their thoughts which are important, and kids get to express their thoughts on what they want to support so it is a feel-good thing. It is important for them to be able to express who they want or where they do their charity.”
After Kyle died by suicide in 2017, Kuchta started Kyle Strong, an organization established in memory of her son. Kuchta said she used the word ‘Strong’ because of the influence Kyle had in the Burton Community.
“He was a strong influence,” she added. “He was physically strong, he stood up for others and he had a strong presence in school, sports and in the community for stuff he did. He was just a very kind and strong kid.”
The organization originally started as a Facebook page, but Kuchta turned it into a non-profit foundation in 2020. Since officially becoming a non-profit, Kyle Strong has done a lot of work raising awareness for mental health.
Kuchta, who is one of the three managing partners of the Foundation, said that this past summer Kyle Strong worked in Chardon and in Newbury, setting up tables in local markets to support the community and start conversations about mental health, suicide prevention and awareness.
“It is okay if you just need some extra support and I have learned that some things that adults think are little problems for kids are bigger problems,” she noted. “We have to be open to listening without judgment to our children and to each other even as adults. You worry about talking to somebody because you think you might be judged.”
Ultimately, the Kyle Strong Foundation has been most prominent in Burton because Kyle attended the Berkshire School District.
“We are trying to branch out and get other schools involved in Geauga County to help make sure that the schools have the conversation and ensure individuals have access to the mental support that they need,” said Kuchta. “I just feel like we are just getting started by branching out to the other communities.”
For the last several years, Kuchta has purchased warm-up jerseys for both the girls’ and boys’ basketball squads, and the girls have designed different slogans to promote mental health awareness through the Kyle Strong Foundation.
Before the season started, Kuchta said the Berkshire girls’ squad came up with the idea of having a three-point shooting charity throughout the season in which for every three-pointer made, the coaching staff would donate $1 each to the Kyle Strong Foundation and NAMI Geauga.
“A few years ago I did it where we had teachers, parents and everybody else pick a stat and they did things for games,” Coach James Bosley told The Weekly Villager. One of the parents said “that for however many rebounds this team gets during a game I am going to donate this money,” and stuff like that.
The Badgers’ sixth-year coach also said that he recalled hearing that a coach in Loudonville did a three-point shootout for charity a few years ago and thought it would be a nice idea for the Berkshire girls.
Although it has been six years since Kyle’s death, his memory still remains strong with the Badger girls.
Kuchta said that in Kyle’s spare time, he would visit playgrounds and play basketball with whomever was willing. A lot of those kids he played with are now playing varsity basketball for the Berkshire girls’ team and some of them remember him because he used to play with their siblings.
“There are still kids that did know him and others that know of him and it just means a lot that he is still impacting people in a good way,” Kuchta added.
In addition to the Kyle Strong Foundation, the Berkshire girls are also donating money to NAMI Geauga County, an organization of families, friends, and individuals whose lives have been affected by mental illness.
Bosley said he has reached out to other schools in the area; the Cardinal Huskies and Mentor Cardinal girls’ basketball teams have also joined in this initiative.
The charity will run until the end of the season and according to Kuchta, she knows that if Kyle were still alive, he would on the court shooting three-pointers.
For anyone having thoughts of suicide or dealing with mental illness, they can call the crisis hotline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org/chat.
