Livingston Metro Y Raises $115,000 for Kids at Golf Outing

More than 150 golfers, guests and volunteers enjoyed daylong festivities and raised $115,000 at the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges’ 20th annual Kids Care Club Golf Outing, held on Sept. 15.

The successful fundraiser at the Montclair Golf Club brought to $1.4 million the total the golf outing has generated to support the Metro Y’s Financial Assistance Fund since 1994. The fund is used to cover costs of Y memberships and other services for children, families and seniors who otherwise could not afford them.

Based in Livingston, the Metro Y is the largest association of YMCAs in New Jersey, serving more than 35,000 individuals. Its six YMCAs are located in East Orange, Livingston, Maplewood, Hardyston, Stillwater and Wayne.

“We are grateful to our supporters, who recognize the YMCA’s power to build strong communities,’’ Richard K. Gorab, president and CEO of the Metro YMCA – the largest association of YMCAs in New Jersey serving more than 35,000 people at six branches, said. “Through their generous support, they ensure that all people can become healthier, more confident, and more secure by belonging to the Y.”

At the golf outing, the Metro Y honored longtime South Mountain YMCA board member Byron Yake with the Kenneth A. DeGhetto Champion’s Cup. The award is given annually to an individual who, like its namesake, longtime volunteer Kenneth DeGhetto, demonstrates a spirit of generosity, sportsmanship and unwavering support of the YMCA mission.

In addition to his 20 years as a South Mountain Y board member, Yake has served on the Metro Y’s annual golf outing committee for eight years. In 2005, the former Associated annual Kids Care Club Golf Outing, held September 15.

Press sports writer, editor and senior executive founded Write on Sports (WoS), which is dedicated to inspiring disadvantaged middle school students to be sports reporters as a way to become strong writers. The nonprofit has provided summer camp and after-school programs to more than 700 students. Yake, who also is a trustee of a nonprofit called the Orange Orphan Society, said he was humbled to receive the Ken DeGhetto cup, noting DeGhetto’s commitment to children and his generous contributions to the community.

“I love giving back to the Y because it has done so much for me,’’ said Yake, who lives in West Orange with his wife, Myrtis. “I learned to swim at the Y. I played basketball and ping-pong and shot pool there. The Y has been a significant part of my life.’’

Information courtesy of Margaret McHugh.