Jerome Bettis' foundation brings out hundreds for charity event in South Fayette

Several former and current Pittsburgh Steelers greats joined a couple hundred special guests in support of an NFL Hall of Famer’s charity.

The Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation hosted its second annual ParTee36 Charity event at Topgolf Pittsburgh in South Fayette on Thursday night.

At least 230 people, including the legendary running back, participated in the fundraiser designed to support programs benefiting underprivileged youths.

“I’m so thankful for the turnout tonight,” Bettis said. “You always get a sense of the success of a foundation by the people that turnout and the support that you receive. The people here have really supported the foundation. They believe in what we’re doing and what we’re trying to accomplish. They’re here to support and also to celebrate. We’re here to have a great time.”

The inaugural event at Topgolf was in 2019. It raised about $64,000.

ParTee36 was canceled last year due to the pandemic. Bettis also caught the virus earlier this year. His symptoms were mild, he said, because he had been vaccinated.

He said he was doing well and feeling blessed to be back with fans and helping children.

“We’re just so pleased to be able to actually have it,” Bettis said. “This year was highly questionable because I came down with covid. Didn’t know if I was going to be here. Fortunately, it was a couple weeks ago and I was able to get past it and test negative.

“In the world we live in, it’s going to happen more and more times. I think the American people are going to have to be resilient. For us, we’re going to have to take the necessary precautions that we’re going to need to take to make sure we give ourselves the best change of positive outcomes.”

Bettis said one of the reasons he started his foundation was because he understands how it feels to need help and to get help.

“I was one of those less fortunate kids as a youngster growing up in inner city Detroit,” Bettis said. “I benefited from a foundation much like this foundation. I wanted to pay it forward. … I received help, and it turned me into the person I am today.”

The event raised $76,000 even before the live auctions and other donations were tallied, said foundation Executive Director Bethany Vietmeier.

Other guests included former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch, former running back Merril Hoge and current Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds.

“(I’m) just coming out here for a great cause,” Edmunds said. “Coming out to here to show my support the best way I can, just helping out. … I was always raised on giving back because I was blessed in so many ways. Any way that we can give back. … It’s a blessing to bless other people.

“It’s always an amazing turnout. This is not my first year coming out. I try to come every year I’m available. We’ve got great people, great events, great conversations, and to be out here is amazing.”

Randy Ford, co-founder and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Exurbia Home Health Care, said he has been friends of Bettis for years and was happy to participate.

“We’ve been supporting his foundation since he got here,” Ford said. “These events are like family events.”

Kiski Area teacher contributes art

Kiski Area School District art teacher Larry Klukaszewski hand-painted a jersey at the event, which Bettis later signed. That and a hand-painted cornhole game were donated to the cause through the Larry Klu Foundation.

The professional artist has partnered with the former running back for about five years.

Fellow Kiski Area teacher Lester Smith was on hand with his daughter, Brianna, both of Irwin, to show support to his colleague and friend.

“It’s incredible,” Smith said. “He’s brought me to a couple of these (events). Larry is a better person than he is an artist, and he’s a great artist. This guy gives away everything. He’s given all his time tonight to help out Bettis’ foundation, and he does this all on his own.”

At least 30 items were up for grabs via silent auction, including a Troy Polamalu jersey signed by the recently-inducted NFL Hall of Famer, an autographed photo from the Chevy Chase classic “Caddyshack,” as well as other signed helmets, football and baseballs.

All were donated by Total Sports Enterprise of Carnegie.

“It’s a big part of what we do, raising money for different foundations,” said Bill Gerboc, TSE director of operations. “We’ve been doing this for a long time. We love raising money. It’s a good foundation supporting the Pittsburgh area, like many foundations around here. We also have a good relationship with Jerome.

”I think last year we raised about $5,000. We‘d definitely like to beat that this year.”

Topgolf director of operations Kevin Kraft said his team implemented a variety of safety protocols in order to welcome guests and special events, and was proud everyone could come together Thursday night.

“Things are going great,” He said. “We love having The Bus out here and the foundation year after year. They always turnout and have a great time. It’s what we like to do here at Topgolf. We like to be here to raise money for a great foundation.

“All of our safety protocols that we’ve put into place since last July for us to even reopen, we’ve held strict to that and true to that in order to gain the trust of the public. We’re packed every weekend and a lot of the evenings. Our commitment for everybody to play safely is at the highest level.”

More information about Bettis’ foundation is available at thebusstopsherefoundation.org.

More information about the venue is available at topgolf.com/us/pittsburgh.