ALTOONA, Iowa (CNN/WPRI) — An college football fan in Iowa took his moment on the national stage to ask for beer money. However, his joke has turned into a serious effort to help sick kids.
Carson King went early to the Iowa State Game in an attempt to make it on ESPN GameDay. To prepare for his time in the spotlight, he made a sign requesting beer money be sent to his Venmo account.
“I just thought as a joke. Maybe I could make a sign asking for money to get some Busch Light. You know, buy some lattes. 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 said.
Carson ended up in a prime position and he and his sign ended up on national television.
“I looked down at my phone. My friend was like, ‘who keeps texting you?’ And it just kept going off and I looked down and had about $400 on my Venmo account,” King said, adding that the amount kept going up. “I had people from Texas, Idaho, California, Massachusetts. A lot of Clemson people donated. I guess they like Busch Light, too.”
So, King and his parents came up with an idea. He would buy a case of beer, and then donate the rest of the money to The University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
After tweeting out his intentions, the amount swelled to more than $20,000.
When Venmo and Busch Beer got word of King’s donation, they announced they would match it, bringing the total donation to over $60,000.
According to CNN, the hospital is next to the Hawkeyes’ Kinnick Stadium and during each home game, fans do the “Iowa Wave” in tribute to the children who can watch the game from the hospital windows.
