Unsung hero: He has two jobs but still finds time to help children, veterans and the homeless
James Kutscher believes that most people want to give to their community but think they don’t have the time.
But despite juggling his career as a freelance marketer with being a bartender at Johnny’s Saloon, the Huntington Beach resident is able to volunteer to feed the homeless, help veterans cope with the emotional effects of war and work with a local youth shelter.
Community service has always been a part of Kutscher’s life, and he said he has his parents to thank for that.
------------------------------------------
Editor’s note: This is an installment of Unsung Heroes, a new annual feature that highlights otherwise overlooked members of the community.
------------------------------------------
When he was about 10 years old and living in Wisconsin, Kutscher said, his mother punished him for a childhood infraction by making him spend a day working in a geriatrics hospital.
He said he was not looking forward to hanging out with seniors all day, but while wheeling them around, he learned a valuable lesson.
“I got them talking and they weren’t what my young brain thought,” Kutscher said.
He realized that the older people just wanted someone to talk to. That was his first memory of what it means to be unselfish, and it was a lesson that stuck with him.
Currently, Kutscher does a lot of his charity work with the Huntington Beach Youth Shelter, which is an emergency crisis and intervention program for kids ages 11 to 17. One of his biggest strengths is securing funds for the group.
Recently, he headed a Christmas gift fundraiser so that every child in the shelter could receive a present for the holidays.
To Kutscher, children especially need the attention because they are still developing.
“Kids are still dreaming; they haven’t been jaded,” he said. “They haven’t taken that wrong road yet.”
Aside from working with children, Kutscher works with Johnny’s Saloon, through the bar’s Johnny’s Veteran Outreach, to provide community support services and raise money and awareness for veterans’ issues.
Through his charitable efforts, Kutscher hopes to lighten people’s burdens.
“Your legacy is not what’s left in the bank,” he said. “It’s what’s left in the hearts and minds of other people when you die.”
Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
