By: JACOB BROWN
Salina Post
The Tyler J. Ritter Legacy Fund presented a check to its first recipient, the Central Kansas Foundation (CKF) Addiction Treatment facility in Salina.
Tyler J. Ritter grew up in Salina, where he attended Sacred Heart. There, he found a passion for basketball. He played the sport for many years, graduating from Sacred Heart in 2016. In 2017, however, Ritter fell and injured his wrists. His doctors prescribed opioids to help with the pain. This led Ritter down the road to his addiction.
Ritter entered rehab in 2020, and by November of 2022, Ritter had beaten his addiction and was sober and optimistic about the future. He returned to Salina with the intent of joining Kansas Wesleyan University's Basketball team. On December 1, 2022, Tyler J. Ritter passed away at age 24.
Tyler Ritter's father, Mark Ritter, started the Tyler J. Ritter Legacy Fund with the intention to save a life. Tyler Ritter always gave his all to others, and, with the help of the Greater Salina Community Foundation, Mark Ritter set up a fund that will live on in perpetuity, honoring his son's character and memory.
Now, the Tyler J Ritter Legacy Fund officially awarded its first check, paying for the treatment fees of a patient in need at CKF Addiction Treatment. Both the organization of CKF and the anonymous patient issued statements of gratitude for the Legacy Fund and the Ritter Family.
To visit the Greater Salina Community Foundation website, click here.
For more information on how you can donate to the Tyler J Ritter Legacy Fund, click here.