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Pat McAfee Donates Millions

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

After spending 8 seasons in the NFL as the punter for the Indianapolis Colts, Pat McAfee retired to start a career in broadcasting and began the Pat McAfee Show under the Barstool Sports umbrella. He took the show out from under the umbrella a few years later and it has steadily grown since then. He’s begun announcing games at the collegiate and professional levels. During this time he incorporated a small business, which also controls his charity, The Pat McAfee Foundation. He has even appeared in matches for the WWE. McAfee has never shied away from an opportunity to grow and do things outside of his comfort zone building quite the loyal following along the way.

Pat McAfee inked a substantial contract with the sports betting app FanDuel towards the end of 2021. The Pat McAfee Show is one of the largest sports podcasts around and attracts millions of viewers and listeners making it a very attractive prize for advertisers. FanDuel and McAfee agreed to a 4 year 120 million dollar contract to make FanDuel the show’s exclusive sports bettor. While Pat McAfee is best known for his career as a top punter and his larger-than-life personality, it is perhaps time he became known for his charitable side.

McAfee, who is no stranger to charity work, wasted no time to take some of that well-earned money and find ways to help others with it. He gave his parents a million dollars after signing the deal. He also used some of the money to give each employee of Pat McAfee Show a 250 thousand dollar bonus. On top of the money he gave to his parents and employees he donated another 6 million to various causes such as, youth programs, children’s hospitals, and to assist domestic violence organizations.

A special recipient of McAfee’s charity has been his hometown of Plum, Pennsylvania. About a week before the FanDuel deal was finalized he donated 2 million dollars to his old high school and its athletic department.  Talking about his hometown he said, “I am so lucky I grew up in Plum. Hardworking people, great people, and the greatest sandwich shop in the world – Rudy’s Subs.” Earlier in 2021 he helped save the local bowling alley, Nesbit’s Lanes, that he spent time at when he was growing up.

Their GoFundMe surpassed its 100-thousand-dollar goal thanks to a donation made by Pat McAfee personally of 20 thousand, and another through his charity, The Pat McAfee Foundation, of just under 16 thousand. When asked about helping save Nesbit’s Lanes, he was quoted saying, “Nesbit’s is a staple of the Plum community,” following that with, “I’ve had the privilege of bowling there, hanging out there, and using their parking lot in times of need in high school.”

One could go on and on about Pat McAfee’s lengthy track record when it comes to charity, but that would take far too long. While many marvel at the phenomenal career he’s had it may be time to start recognizing him for his charity with the same awe. He’s done a number of amazing things in his life, but his work through The Pat McAfee Foundation and his charitable work beyond that is the most amazing to me. Pat McAfee is a prime example of someone who embodies the charitable spirit we love to see here at Volutaryism In Action.

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Children’s Hospital Receives Thousands of Donations Following Epic Playoff Game

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in overtime, in what many consider to be an ‘instant classic.’ The game itself had everything you could ever want from a playoff game: many lead changes, last second scores, and of course overtime.

While the game will likely be remembered for a long time, one of the most amazing things about the game came long after the final whistle. It has become a new age tradition in sports for fans to show respect and support for an opposing team or player after a hard fought game by donating money to that player’s or team’s charity. That is precisely what happened following the playoff win by the Chiefs, according to a report by WKBW News.

A Facebook page called ‘Chiefs Kingdom Memes’ made a post on Monday night calling on fellow Chiefs fans to donate to Patrick Mahomes’ (starting quarterback of the Chiefs) charity, “Patrick Mahomes’ 15 and the Mahomies”. He requested that donations be made in $13 increments in honor of the game tying 13 second drive, orchestrated by Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to send the game into overtime, eventually allowing the Chiefs to win the game over the Buffalo Bills.

Brett Fitzgerald who runs the Facebook group recalled talking about the post with a buddy of his, Alex Irvin. The two were messaging back and forth when Irvin mentioned that Bills Mafia (The nickname for passionate Buffalo Bills fans) would likely also have done a similar thing and raised money for Josh Allen (starting quarterback of the Bills) and his foundation.

Fitzgerald said, “…I’m like, I like that idea. So, instantly went and found Josh Allen’s foundation. Donated $13 to it, so basically switch the $13 over to Josh Allen’s foundation. Made a quick meme about it, posted it on there, posted a screenshot of my donation and deleted the other one from Facebook and Twitter recommending the Mahomes’ foundation. I said, ‘this is better.’” Within 24 hours of making the post asking fellow Chiefs fans to follow his lead and make donations to Allen’s foundation rather than Mahomes’, Oishei Children’s Hospital found itself receiving thousands of donations.

The Patricia Allen Fund was created in November of 2020 after the passing of Josh Allen’s grandmother. It all started when fans began donating $17, for Allen’s jersey number, to Oishei Children’s Hospital. They originally raised over 1 million dollars for the hospital at that time. The hospital now has a wing named after Allen’s grandmother to honor her. This time though it was fans of an opposing team showing their love for Allen by donating money to the children’s hospital. Andrew Bennet, vice president of the hospital was quoted saying, “Any kids that are growing up, whether they’re playing sports or not, sportsmanship and courtesy and integrity are lifelong lessons and this is a great example of sportsmanship.”

“Bills Mafia was the catalyst in this and we’re just following their lead on it.” Fitzgerald said. As of today, fans have raised over $173 thousand dollars since the playoff game. For Brett Fitzgerald, Allen’s foundation being focused on a children’s hospital is a cause he can relate to and is appreciative of. His 7-year-old boy suffers from asthma and also lives with autism so he spends more time than a parent would like at children’s hospitals. “I have a son with autism. So, he does go to the children’s hospital.”

Donations have slowed down but they are still coming in. This is a trend in the sports world that will hopefully continue and gain momentum as time goes on. Sports are often about bringing people together and community, and few things are better examples of those than charity. Fitzgerald isn’t the first and won’t be the last but his efforts will change the lives of countless children and that’s more amazing than even the greatest playoff games.

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Boxer Donates Winnings To Charity

Instead of spending his money on sports cars and swimming pools, this boxer donated his winnings to charity — specifically, to fighting homelessness.

British Boxer Tyson Fury has championed many charitable causes since his own battles with drug abuse and mental health problems. The Sun reports that when he traveled to an event in LA and saw the homeless crisis that the government has caused, he vowed to do something.

Boxer Donates Winnings To Charity
Tyson Fury has said he gave away his money to help people, not himself. (Credit: DAVID GARCIA - KONG EVENTS)

There was more than sentiment behind the boxer’s promise. Following his bout with Deontay Wilder, Fury donated his entire paycheck of about $9 million to charities that provide housing for indigent alcohol and drug addicts in his home country of England.

But Fury claims that knowing he’s been able to help people is worth more than any publicity that might come from his actions. “I did give away my last purse but I don’t do charity work for a pat on the back,” Fury said. “I do it to help people but I do not want praise for it, I don’t want to be called a do-gooder.”

Boxer Donates Winnings To Charity
Tyson Fury gave away his $9 million Wilder fight money to charity. (Credit: DAVID GARCIA - KONG EVENTS)

Fury’s fight against his newest rival—homelessness—is a great inspiration to all of us who believe in voluntaryism. People want to help others. And from boxers donating their winnings to charity to a neighbor providing a helping hand, they will.

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