Carson King, the college football fan who went viral for his beer money sign, gave a $3-million dollar donation to children’s hospital which he generated from his Venmo account.
Last month, King was seen on TV holding a sign that read “Busch Light Supply Needs Replenished” during the match between the Iowa State Cyclones and Iowa Hawkeyes. He raised over $1,000 donations in just one day, which made him happy knowing such funds would be used to help many patients at the children’s hospital.
On September 14, King said on Twitter that all the donations he has received would go to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. King said that he chose to help this hospital because they do an amazing job in assisting patients and their families. As a football lover, he also appreciates the hospital’s special connection to his favorite sports.
“The University of Iowa does the wave to the kids since the hospital overlooks the stadium, and being I’m an Iowa State University fan, I figured this would be my to help out,” King said.
Within days of raising funds, King received a $1 million donation from Busch Beer, helping him generate a total of $3 million funds. He wrote on Twitter: “We did it! Thank you to all the Local Busch Light Distributors across the state for the final $41,000.00, making this last push possible! 3 million dollars for @UIChildrens!”
King disabled his Venmo account after hitting the $3 million mark. He said the amounts of the donations were as little as 5 cents and as much as thousands of dollars but what matters is everyone’s willingness to help.
“There’s just lots of great people out there. It’s humbling,” King said. “They know it’s for the great cause of a children’s hospital. It almost leaves you speechless.”
Full of excitement and happiness, King recently presented a check for $3,004,000 to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The hospital was very thankful for King’s support and compassion.
“We are grateful to be part of such a spontaneous, remarkable occurrence that brought together so many people. One simple act of kindness sparked a nationwide cause behind which we could all unite – helping children heal,” said Suresh Gunasekaran, CEO of University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.
While the hospital intends to use the donations toward helping pediatric patients, King didn’t exactly direct how he wanted the funds to be used. Nonetheless, King said he would talk to the hospital management about the funds’ potential uses.
He also mentioned about his plans of helping other causes in the future but he wanted to get back to his normal life for a while.
“I’d like to start a foundation eventually and keep doing this for different hospitals and groups in Iowan and in the Midwest,” King said. “First, I need to wrap this up and get back to a normal routine, get back to work and have a normal day and go from there.”
King may have a weird and funny way of raising funds for a good cause but his simple, comical sign has generated something big for the children in Iowa.
Watch this video to know more about Carson King’s fundraising story: