welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where we hope to inject the world with a dose of the Minnesota nice that it desperately needs. Yeah. We've got a guy, uh, KG, you're with us, uh, calling in from Minnetonka, the good side of town, and Steve and I are over here on the blue collar side of town. Oh, yeah. St. Paul. Oh, brother, what a crock. What a crock. By the lake. And we got, uh, we got another, uh, special guest with us, a guy that I've known for, uh, for a number of years.
Um, from the JP4 Foundation, Jeff Huth. Jeff, welcome. Well, yeah, thank you guys for having me. John, if you remember, the very first time we met, we were at a little cafe in Matamitai, and... You said you gotta get the little De Niro sandwich, and I think my mouth was on fire the little Nero sandwich, uh, at Roma. At Roma, which, uh, is, uh, recently sold their building.
Um, but yeah, it used to be called, uh, Hot Dago, and the Italian American alliance came in and said, Dago is a disparaging term for an Italian person, so they turned it into the hot Nero. You don't want to get those Italians mad at you. That could end up badly for you. Absolutely not.
Well, I, um, I was thinking about, uh, some guests, uh, that we'd like to have on the program and, Jeff, is with the JP4 Foundation, as I mentioned, and I got to know Jeff quite a few years ago when my boys were involved with the Minnesota Blizzard, baseball program. And, Adam Barta, who's the, uh, the guy who runs the Blizzard program, decided he wanted to do something for the community.
he has had great success with his baseball teams and, you know, developing young men, and it's a character based program. And he... recruited Jeff to, take the reins of this program, and Jeff, why don't you explain from here how it went from being the Minnesota Blizzard Foundation to the JP4 Foundation, because I think the story is pretty special. Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, when we got started, Adam approached me.
He had a player that actually passed away, Johnny Price IV, and he said, Hey, I want to do something super special for this kid. I'm not really sure what I want to do. And at the time, 26, not, not married, no kids. No wife, no pet. He's like, I was like, yeah, I'll do it. I'll sign up. Let's go. And I said, what do you want to do? And he's like, I want to like help revive baseball in the inner city. I said, sign me up. Let's do it. So we kind of tried this out at.
Thousand 16, 17, and I finally got a phone call from Sam Shoemaker of Battle Creek Middle School. He said, Jeff, our baseball team hasn't won a game in two years. can you guys come out and teach our kids baseball? And I thought, John, Kevin, I thought, this is it. I made it. My phone is ringing. I get all the best coaches from around the state of Minnesota. I have eight kids show up.
Not one of them came with a glove, not one of them was dropped off at their parents, and not one of them had a lunch. So, we're all sitting around, and I said, out of these eight kids, I said, Hey, how many of you guys are here because you absolutely love baseball? And not one kid raised their hand. And I said, Okay, well... Why are you guys here? And it was one kid in the back. He raised his hand. He said why I'm here Cuz he said you're gonna feed us.
Oh my god It was at that moment that I thought Everything we're doing is backwards. So we've kind of dropped baseball from everything And what we said is how do we give kids a safe place to go where they have access to healthy meals? Healthy relationships and healthy activity. And from that one kid's answer, you fast forward to 2023 and we're running eight summer long camps, two after school programs, all around, um, providing kids with ACEs, or providing kids pieces to combat their ACEs.
And we know ACEs to be adverse childhood experiences. And stats and research shows, as soon as a kid has four or more adverse childhood experiences, their life expectancy actually goes down. Now, it don't, not only goes down, the overall quality of life goes down too. So, we said, how do we develop a program that just provides kids pieces, positive childhood experiences to offset all these ACEs?
So that's kind of the long winded story of, we go from baseball, we thought we were good with baseball, and there's one kid's story, just like Johnny's story that started this, that said, hey, we got this completely backwards. You mentioned, uh, Johnny Price. Um, tell us a little bit about him and, his legacy really through your foundation. Yeah, and so I always start saying Johnny Price, 18 year old, Division 1 prospect, um, great baseball player, but even a better person off the field.
Uh, I say someone that was 18 but had the mindset of like a 75 year old, have that wisdom. My kind of guy. So, yeah, Johnny's story was when he was growing up, 15, 16, 17, 18 years old, he kept losing his baseball equipment. So he'd go to mom and dad and say, Hey guys, I lost my brand new A2000 that you guys paid 300 for. Can I have more money so I can go get a brand new glove? And he said, Johnny, you gotta be more responsible, but here's more money, don't lose your gloves.
He loses gloves, his bat, his cleats, all this stuff. So Johnny passed away in December of 2015. Come January of 2016, families started coming up to the Price family saying, hey, do you know what your son did for my son? He said, you know what, he's been gone for a month, like we have no idea what he's talking about. They said, we have two kids with special needs at home. We don't have any money for baseball equipment. Your son gave my son his brand new baseball glove.
And then another family would come up and say the same thing. So, for four years, this kid was being super irresponsible, losing his stuff, when really, he was just, uh, helping out other families, and didn't want to put them to shame, and just said, Hey, I'll put this on me. Now, if that doesn't give you people listening the shot of oxytocin that you need... Oh, God, that is just... Oh, it's beautiful, but it's so sad, too, that he's not here to get the credit he so much deserves.
That's amazing. Yeah, I've heard Johnny described as, you know, one of the best baseball players that went through the Blizzard program but even better as a person, and I guess that story kind of exemplifies just that. And he's from Lake, he was in uh, what school in Lake, down South? Lake, Lakeville South. Yeah, Lakeville South. Lakeville, yeah, sorry, Lakeville. Wow. Just so everybody knows, um, he, he passed away with another, a fellow student. I know the story with the Nerf guns, right?
Absolutely. Yep. So, with, uh, Yeah, because my daughters went to Lakeville North, and so, yeah, they were different schools, but that same pocket of friends, so I, it was a heart wrenching story. Yeah, wasn't Flynn's nephew that passed away with them? Yep. Jake Flynn. Jake Flynn. Jesus. And all the kids were doing it. It wasn't just the kids. It was, like, the thing to do, um, at that time. You know, when we were all teenagers, we all did, like, you know, Absolutely moronic things.
We used to play a game called chase and we'd try to get chased by a car and then we'd run to the, have them follow us to Burnsville, turn our lights off and drive through the park where only we knew the dark, like, you know, dirt roads. Um, and this was what the kids did back then. They used to play Nerf Tag. They'd do it moving vehicles and it had a tragic ending this one time. Yeah. Well, it, it has, uh, it has turned into a, uh, a wonderful program.
Um, you mentioned the, uh, the story, uh, Battle Creek, which is the neighborhood that I grew up in. So that, uh, that touches me right where it, uh, right where it counts. Yeah. I might cut that out. Touches me where it counts. Yeah, right where you grew up. You know, that? Weird way to say it, John. Weird way to say it. We don't do me where it counts in my heart. Good God. Okay. Easy. Jared Vogel, JP four foundation, JP four foundation, Jeff.
Are there any other, you know, for starters, you've got a big golf tournament coming up and, uh, KG and I are actually playing in it. I registered today. Oh, I love it. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. KG actually is coming out of his golf retirement specifically for this tournament. I swore off the game, but when John put it, you know, out there that it was such a big cause and I, and I got to play with John, uh. How do you say no to that? That's true.
I saw the press release. I'll be sure to put you guys on hold one or ten so we don't have to send you on a long jaunt to get you guys started. Appreciate that. That's fantastic. You know, Kevin is a minor local celebrity. He'll be kissing babies and the whole thing. So tell us about the golf tournament and how that started and about the success that you've had there.
Yeah, and it's so funny, John, is when we met years and years ago and we said, Hey, we're going to start the foundation, you, and it all makes sense now. You kind of looked at me and said, Jeff, a golf tournament's a ton of work. And I was like, well, how else am I going to raise money? And what you're telling me is like, Hey, it's a ton of work. However, um, there's other ways that you guys can kind of fund what you guys want to do.
So, uh, we, um, So you didn't listen and you went and did a golf tournament. And it's one of the most successful in town. Shows you what I know. No, no, no! I'm finally finding out. You were wrong. I'm finally finding out what you meant with like, other grant money and corporations. Oh yes, okay. I bust my balls for this golf tournament and we'll clear 70, 000. Which is awesome. However... John, I know you can make three phone calls and you guys can put a zero behind that 70, 000.
Well, I don't know about that. Four phone calls. Yeah. So, so, yeah, so the golf tournament, this is the eighth year. Uh, the very first year after I met with John, I had no idea what I was doing. I think we had about six or seven foursomes up at Riverwood in, um, Otsego. We raised like 3, 000 and we're like, hey, well, we'll try it one more year. As the years went on and as we figured out our programming, more and more people started showing up.
So, uh, down at Legends on, uh, Monday, August 7th, we have an 8 a. m. flight that will have 144 golfers in it. Uh, and then we'll have a 2 p. m. flight with another 144. Jeez, that's incredible. Yeah, however, the coolest part is at 1 p. m., everybody's having a lunch together. So, here's 288 golfers coming out.
Again, not because of me, not because of Adam Barta, not because of John, because of one student, Johnny Price, and the story that he was able to live on in his 18 years and that continues to live on. So, it's a pretty special event. And the Price family has gotten behind this in a big way, as I understand. Yeah, John and Lisa have absolutely become my second family. So, we go down there for holidays, um, I check in with them all the time, keep them up to date.
Um, so absolutely, they're behind it, you know, I hope they don't mind me telling you this, but they... John will tell me, you know what, Jeff, I go to bed with tears in my eyes every night, I wake up with tears in my eyes, however, to be in North Minneapolis, to be in East St. Paul, and to see my son's name walk away on the back of a kid's t shirt. That has a full belly, full heart, and has been, um, has these mentors around him. That, that's what keeps me going every day.
So, um, it just, uh, if that doesn't motivate you, it certainly motivates me to say, Hey, let's get this from, you know, a 500, 000 foundation to a 5 million foundation. Pretty impressive, Jeff. That, um, I mean, you have literally turned that from zero. From nothing. Yep. to what it is today. It is that the golf tournaments are a lot of work. But in addition to the money that you're raising, you are connecting so many people to the work of the foundation.
And I always say that, you know, while the gift of people's investment is, uh, is obviously very important to serve the bottom line, it's the gift of their influence that can be really valuable. And, you know, those people that, that go to that event, I'm sure will tell friends and... You know, I've seen stuff in places. I've seen kids wearing the, the JP four gear and it's like, Oh, Hey, I, I know that, that thing there. I mean, you've really built it.
So congratulations, Jeff, do you, do you, do you actually get to hang with the kids and see them see this kind of stuff in action now? Are you, yeah. So, so here's the cool thing is I am still, you know, I laughed my poor wife. The very first day we went on, I said, Hey, I think I'm going to leave teaching to start this foundation that doesn't really have a plan or any money. And she's like, Oh yeah, go ahead and here we are eight years later and she's still packing golf bags.
But I tell you that because I was there for the first day of programs. And I'm still out there with the programming. And what's special about us and what is unique is, um, we, we commit to a two to one ratio. That means that every two kids has their own personal mentor. A lot of places will start to brag at a ten to one ratio. We kind of looked at it and said, nothing else is moving the needle, so let's just do something completely different.
And the other separator that we do is, all of the mentors we hire, Um, come from the community that we're serving. So we have kids that, um, can see people from their own community that look like them, sound like them, that can talk them through. All the good, all the bad, and, and, um, be there. So, yep, I've been here for 8 years, but seriously, the secret sauce that I have is, uh, John, you talked about the influence around me, but the mentors we hire to carry out the work that, uh, we do.
I, um, over the 4th of July, uh, we were in Michigan, and my sons, Jack and Ben, Came in and said, um, We're kind of in trouble, and I'm like, What are you talking about? You're in trouble. Well, um, Adam Barta had asked us to call all of these prospective uh, sponsors and, uh, we didn't realize we were the only ones calling these sponsors. Um, so what do you think I should do? And I said, well I think you should start calling the prospective sponsors.
And then they came in and they were kind of frustrated because they were getting a lot of no's. And I'm like, you know what, you gotta celebrate no, because at least you're asking. And I said, if you think that Huth and Barta gave you the easy ones, you're crazy. They got all the low hanging fruit, and they stuck you with the, uh, with the long shots.
But, I personally appreciate the fact that you guys are engaging former players, you're engaging people that have been involved in the program, because... It's a great introduction to philanthropy for these young people. That's cool. It's very cool. Can you tell us, do you have some players that have come back and have contributed? to the program. You know what, uh, we have a, a ton of, uh, players from Adam that have come back.
Um, and they, they do everything from make phone calls to come out and volunteer, even to show up at the event. You know, I know Cole Albers has been at every golf tournament who happened to be a teammate of Johnny when he passed away. He just said, I will not miss this tournament, whatever it costs, whatever it takes, I will be there. And he's been there the last eight years. Can I tell ya, I got a funny Cole Elbers story. So Cole Elbers pitched for a short time with the Twins.
And my son Jack, uh, he and Ben play for a town ball team, called St. Paul Air Freight. And a couple of years ago they won the, uh, the Class A Town Ball State Tournament. The following year... They're in the, like, semi finals, and guess who's pitching for the other team? Cole Elbers. So here's, here's this guy. Yeah. Wow. think it was a Minnetonka team or something. The rumor is they gave him 250 bucks to come in and throw, but I don't know if that's true. Ringer for the day.
Ringer for the day. Ringer the ringer. Like, oh my god, they got an MLB guy out there towing the rubber. is there still a connection to the, to the Minnesota Blizzard program? Or what do we call it now? The Minnesota... Yeah. So Adam Barta, uh, sits on her board. Adam Barta is, you know, he's the first person to raise his hand and say, Hey, how can we make this bigger? How can we make this better? And what support do you need for me to do this?
Um, Adam has grown a huge club baseball organization. And the cool thing is, um, and for now we're going full circle is, uh, I was one of the very first players for Adam back in 2007. No kidding. I have the very first, uh, Blizzard win ever on the mound back in 2007. What? Here we've come full circle that. Yeah, now I'm running a foundation that he started from, um, one of his players that passed away. So, um, Adam does things the right way.
Uh, he's always trying to build people up and pass them off and, um... So, yeah, I have nothing but great things to say about that. So, Adam is still very, very much involved. And even though we have shifted the foundation from baseball, he's our number one champ and he's always looking to grow. And I just think with sports, you know, I've seen it in the hockey world for so long.
You know, a lot of these families and especially these kids don't understand, uh, philanthropy and, and, and, and how other kids don't always have the same opportunity.
I think this is an eye opener and I know it's kind of segued away from baseball, but the fact that you have former, uh, athletes, former baseball players involved in like John's kids making the calls at the golf tournament, the volunteering, it is an eye opener for these kids because I think a lot of us grew up and I'm, and I'm one of them. Grew up at a time where I, I always had a glove. I always had my hockey gear. I always got to practice on time. I always had a meal.
I always had everything I needed to be successful. And I don't think kids these days realize. That how special that is. And so if this, if this thing can even have that ripple effect on the flip side, not just the kids that are are needing all this charity, the kids on the other side of the fence that maybe need to understand how lucky they are and what they can do to give back, you know, 10, 15, 20 years down the road, there's just so much of the butterflies that can come from this great cause.
So congrats on it. I think it's awesome. Well, I appreciate that, Kevin, and I'm in the same boat. Every time that I needed something, I had a meal, I had someone dropping me off at practice, so, um, I'm just lucky that I think my narrative and perspective, uh, got interrupted. Um, you mentioned that you're in the same boat, it sounds like Kevin's back in the submarine. He's on the boat, yeah. Did you hear that? You might want to take that thing back. Yeah, well, okay, Steve, you had a question?
No, my, my question that, um, that I, I'm assuming Kevin probably would have to ask the same question, but is there, this might be a dumb question or a silly question, but Is the Blizzard related at all to Dairy Queen? Are they involved in that or is there kind of a cross, cross?
Yeah. So the Minnesota Blizzard way back in the day started as a, uh, MYAS, if you know, Minnesota Youth Athletic Services, like, uh, Hey, how do we, how do we have an organization where kids are, can go play next level baseball? And then they came across Adam Barta and they said, Hey, we don't really have any traction. Do you want to take over this organization? And Adam said, absolutely. do it, and he's grown it ever from there.
However, I do know that he's trying to get, uh, in Minnesota Blizzard, or in, uh, Dairy Queen here to say, hey, we could put a little patch on her jersey. He should be, yes. Yeah, he's got Twin Cities Orthopedic on one side, we'll put, uh, Dairy Queen on the other side. He'd be all for that. Yeah, I'm, I'm, my only concern is, is that. The, uh, the Dairy Queen will come after him for some sort of trademark infringement. Yeah, there we go. Yeah, here's... Spell it differently, maybe.
Here's how, uh, well, how much of a fan I am of Adam Barta. Um, I discovered Adam Barta through a, uh, a friend. He and a guy named John Anderson who's one of the nicest guys you could ever encounter in your life ran this, this camp, this, uh, program up in Rogers, Minnesota. And every Friday night during the winter I would load my car with six or seven other, seven kids. Ben at the time was probably five or six and we would drive up to Rogers. And these guys would teach them baseball.
In the winter? In the winter. It was an indoor, it's an indoor facility. Got it. Yeah. Think about it. Come on. Blizzard. Oh, I see, yeah, Blizzard. Oh, yeah, that's very clever. Ha ha ha ha. But, you know, I, uh, you know, people will, will say, you know, Hey, you know, where'd your kids learn how to play baseball? And I'd say, it ain't from me. Wow. You know, it's from, you know.
Joey and Joe Dempsey and, you know, these are some old time names, you know, Barta and John Anderson, such a great group of people and I'm just so amazed and proud of, you know, what they have, uh, turned their program into, but more importantly, the fact that, uh, they've Nice Had a role in, in launching this, uh, JP4 foundation. No kidding. So, one last question for you, Jeff. What, uh, just curious, how, how much have you grown your budget to be? How much money are you raising in a year?
Yeah, so, we're on pace, um, to hit that 500, 000 mark, uh, this year. And we kind of, we kind of looked at each other as an organization, said, all right, we've doubled, we've doubled, let's double again. So, um, we hit our big break a couple months ago. Um, our, our after school program that we have run, we finally have data coming back.
And what the data is saying is that we asked all the teachers that have all the kids in our program, and 100% of the teachers said, The kids in your program are more respectful to their teachers and their peers after being in your program. Wow. So we took that, we took that data, brought it to the St. Paul Foundation and said, Hey, we want to double this. And they said, all right, we'll give you your first 30, 000 to double it. Go raise the rest. So, uh, John, that's where I'm at right now.
So we're, uh, we're on pace for 500, 000, but I gotta, I got some work to do to close that out for this year. Well, I look forward to talking to you about that. Okay. Thanks. It's amazing. Well, I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Alrighty. Well, Jeff, it was great chatting with you. Um, I will, uh, KG and I will see you on, uh, the 7th. We didn't invite Steve because I'm not sure Steve is much of a golfer and we, we want to do well in this tournament. We don't want to embarrass ourselves.
I'll, I'll, yeah. I'll carry it. Well, I love it. Thank you. Thank you all for your time. Please reach out if there's anything I can do to help you guys out. Alright, Jeff. Thanks a bunch. Talk to you later. Yep. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you. Alright. KG, we got a couple of, uh, final, uh, items of business that we'd like to discuss with you. What do you got over there? Sounds like a mafia here. This is like a mafia meeting. I was just going to continue that just for a second.
Yeah. The reason why those kids are respectful is because they're getting nourished. Yeah. They're feeling confident about who they are now and they can actually think straight and they can be They feel good about what they're doing. That's, that's pretty damn cool. It's a heartwarming story, that's for sure. Yeah, you know, it's funny, the state just passed this deal where free lunches for everybody.
And again, we're not going to get political, but I've heard some people bitching about the fact that, you know, we're buying lunches for everybody. And, you know, the reality of the matter is, is you just don't know what people's economic situation is. And it is so awkward. You know, there are people that are living beyond their means out there. Yeah. That, cobbling together the money to, uh, to, to, to provide their kid with a good lunch. Uh, take it from me.
I mean, I got a lot of food experience when I'm, when I am not fed properly. Oh, it's not pretty. It's hangry. It's the whole. Oh, I can't do anything. I can't focus. Yeah. The other side of is though, if, if kids are really malnourished, actually their brains don't function properly. They actually can't learn. It's, I mean, yeah, there's a whole thing to it. And we, it's confuses people and gets people worried about, you know, socialism or whatever, but to some extent.
You know, this is what the community has to do to figure it out. Absolutely. You've got to get people thinking. I think that's a huge, it's, it's important, you know, the fact that they're now providing breakfast for kids.
I mean, you know, if we're going to spend our money on anything, let's make sure that these kids are, are getting fed, you know, and those people that, you know, you could have all this political talk about legalizing marijuana and down the road when sports wagering is legalized. But you know, the bottom line is. Both marijuana and legalized sports betting are going to bring millions upon millions of dollars back into the state budget.
And if part of that money helps kids feel better at school, helps nourish kids and feed kids, then we have nothing to complain about here. Because I think a lot of us have grown up in a bubble and all of us I think are in that category where we never had to worry about that. That was never something that was on our radar and it is on a lot of people's radars now. COVID changed a lot of things.
You know, we're a better place in a lot of areas because of COVID, but, you know, the workforce and the way that whole thing is shifted now, and there are a lot of people that still are in a great deal of trouble financially. And so if they, if you can help the kids out, it's not their fault and, and help them get along the way, it's probably going to be a good thing. So it's cool to hear that.
And it's cool to hear the way this organization has grown from just this small little thing in this guy's basement to something that's bringing the kind of money it is now. I mean, a golf tournament, 288 golfers is. That is, I've seen that, that is amazing, but that's really hard to do. That's a lot of work, basically year round. And this Jeff Huth is a go getter. He is extremely talented. He must be. He really is. And he's just a good dude. He's a really good guy.
Yeah, you can, you get that vibe from him when you talk to him on the phone here, but you know, to do what they've done with this organization, he's got to be. I mean, I mean, he's got to be pretty damn impressive with the connections he has and, and, and getting people to commit and then, and motivating people to kind of balance through their time. John, you've tried to do it. I've done it. It's it's hard. Like it's really hard to do.
Yeah. Um, I have a, just a, a, a story that I saw, and you guys probably saw this, but it was a, a perfect, don't be that guy. Okay. Right. Can I just tell this quickly? Yeah. Tell it and you, maybe you maybe saw it. I love it. It was about a lady who went to Jimmy John's. She got a sandwich. Okay. And she got, opened it up in the car on the way she went to the drive-thru, and it said it's, it looked like it said B I t B I T C H. Yeah. Okay. You saw this? Okay. I haven't seen it Uhhuh.
So she, and there's a picture of it looks like it, and she's like, well, You know, I didn't, I didn't, I changed my sandwich around a little bit, but this doesn't warrant this, so she drove back there, ready just to give it to somebody. Bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese? Is that it? She goes, what's, can you tell me who's responsible for this? And he's like, what? She goes, look at what that says. He goes, that's BLT and cheese. She's like. Oh, goodbye. Yeah. Oh my God. Hey, I didn't see it.
Everyone's so ready to fight and to, to be, they've been taken, you know, they've been taken down and so they're going to go fight the man and, and, you know, get, get their revenge back. So look at what happened. So did they, did they post this story? Yes. So here's what I love about that story. Here's a person The End. Who found, who like was willing to say, I was looking for a fight. I'm the one who made the mistake. No, it was beautiful in that way. Yeah, it really is.
Yes. But so don't be that guy in that don't jump to conclusions. Look a little closer before you get angry. And you know, but then, yeah, they, they did make fun of themselves. That's wonderful. That's exactly what they should have done. That's what I would have done too. But. You know, how funny is that? Have you guys, uh, seen any, uh, any good stories, uh, in the news lately that, uh, that you'd like to share? Just as we shut things down, any moments of kindness that you've witnessed?
I did, yeah. You know, we, um, we had our, our fundraiser over the weekend out at Canterbury for, uh, the Leg Up Foundation, which is to help jockeys and their families when they get hurt or disabled because, you know, jockeys are basically... Uh, free agents, they don't have anybody that, that backs them financially. They only make money when they're riding horses. And so I, I got to present, um, a trophy with a guy named Patrick Conchari.
Now, Patrick was a jockey at Canterbury here in the last decade that was in a terrible car accident, not his fault. He got hit by a drunk driver and he's paralyzed, uh, from the waist down. He's been through an awful lot. His brother just died this past year, Alex, another jockey at Canterbury. And so, uh, Patrick, um, with a smile on his face was out there to help kind of, um, spearhead this, this incredible, um, fundraiser for the jockeys.
And, you know, most tracks across the country, even the big ones in New York and California raised between five and 10, 000. And I watched the Minnesota patrons and then all the people that work out of Canterbury donate. Close to 30, 000 on Saturday, dunk tanks, bouncy ball races. And I just, it warmed my heart. I left, I left work that night.
Um, just thinking that the world is, is still a great place, especially here in Minnesota, especially out of Canterbury and, um, got to meet some of the families of disabled jockeys that are impacted. Uh, and same thing, food, paying bills, getting them back on their feet. Uh, it was incredibly inspiring. And so I just thought I'd bring that up.
And if any of the people listening here were out there on Saturday or have donated, uh, through Canterbury park to the leg up foundation, it's a, it was a very, very moving night. You know, the, this has kind of turned into the philanthropy chronicles. It seems like the last bunch of guests that we've had on have been executive directors or working with, uh, all with a Monday night connection, a nonprofit organization that has some connection to modem EDI or to one of us.
But the reality of the matter is, is it. It feels good to participate in philanthropic endeavors, whether you're the one donating, you're witnessing somebody donating. We joke about oxytocin, but you want a boost of oxytocin, support an organization like this. And to those of you. that are upset by the fact that your kid that's going to Minnetonka High School for example, well, I can afford to buy my own kid their lunch. They don't need the state, I don't need the state buying the lunch.
Take the money that you would have given to whatever, you know, Jimmy John's to buy your kid a lunch every day and donate it to an organization that really could use it. And I guarantee you, you'll never give till it hurts, you give till it feels real good. It will feel good, and it will be something that lifts your spirits, and that's really what this is all about. And as Forrest Gump would say, that's all I have to say about that. Alright, thank you KG, thank you Steve, and off we go.