Carson King is a pretty smart cookie. Even if his mom did initially give him a hard time about the sign that made him a viral story. King is an alumnus of Iowa State University and he brought a sign to a Cyclones football game with a sign that read, “Busch Light needs replenished. Venmo Carson-King-25.”
King said, “My mom was like ‘this is going to be a proud mom moment. My son is going to be begging for money for beer on national television.”
King was shown on TV during a break in the football game and his Venmo account was flooded with cash. He quickly had $1,000 donated to him, so King asked his parents for advice about what to do with the money. They told their son they thought it would be a good idea to donate the funds to a children’s hospital.
Simply amazing. We’re overwhelmed by the generosity #ForTheKids, and we could not be more grateful. Gifts from across the country will now help us care for kids from all across the country! pic.twitter.com/sYvfi9dXjk
— UI Stead Family Children's Hospital (@UIchildrens) October 1, 2019
The story went viral and King set a fundraising goal: a whopping $2 million. He ended up hitting the mark three days early, on September 27.
We just hit over 2 Million Dollars for @UIChildrens!! #ForTheKids pic.twitter.com/WFZj9g3VhB
— Carson King (@CarsonKing2) September 27, 2019
The hospital King and his family decided to donate the money to is the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital and King made a visit to the hospital to meet some of the kids.
Thousands have come together and raised over 2.2 Million Dollars to help out the kids and families at @UIchildrens and I can’t stop smiling thinking about it. I was honored to meet some of the kids and families at the Hospital on Saturday. #ForTheKids pic.twitter.com/yVWu2ROlK1
— Carson King (@CarsonKing2) September 29, 2019
King upped the ante even more and Busch Light matched donations and backed the final push to raise an incredible $3 million for the hospital.
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! #ForTheKids pic.twitter.com/GvrsSPoahP
— Carson King (@CarsonKing2) October 2, 2019
A pretty amazing story, to be sure.
And remember, if you have a good idea and it seems a little goofy at first, follow through with it because you never know where it will go and how you can impact the lives of others!
