Family of late Pine-Richland teen Matt Graf creating youth behavioral health fund

An annual charity golf outing honoring a Pine-Richland High School student who died a few weeks before graduation in 2013 will begin using some of the money raised to help children suffering from behavioral issues.

Since its inception in 2015, the Matt Graf Golf Outing has donated $96,000 for student scholarships and community causes.

“In the past, we’ve focused on helping students and projects that benefit the community, which will continue to happen,” said Michael Young, a friend of the Graf family who helps with organizing the annual outing as a board member for the nonprofit HM3 Partners Independence Fund.

“The family believes that Matt was suffering from behavioral issues before his death, so they wanted to do something that benefits an organization that directly helps students who are experiencing those kind of issues,” Young said.

The Graf family recently made an initial $10,000 contribution commitment from the proceeds of this year’s golf outing to the UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“The Graf Family is grateful for our many friends, family and community businesses and their continued support of the Matt Graf Golf Outing,” said Katie Graf. “Their love and generosity over the past several years has allowed us the opportunity to provide many educational scholarships and support various beneficial community causes in our son Matt’s name.

“We are very pleased to have recently worked with the Children’s Hospital Foundation to establish the Matt Graf Behavior Health Fund,” she said. “We are honored to make an initial $10,000 donation to this fund, knowing that those dollars will go to work to help children in our area who are struggling with mental health issues.”

The yearly golf outing was established after Graf’s death as a way to honor the teen, who lettered in baseball and wrestling and was on the high school golf team for three years. He was planning to continue his baseball career at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus.

To thank the Pine-Richland community for the outpouring of support the family received after the teen’s death, they decided to help local students achieve their goals by awarding scholarships.

The golf outing has sold out each year since its debut, including this year’s event on June 9 at the Pittsburgh North Golf Club in Gibsonia.