How The Barstool Fund Helped Rescue This Family-Owned Bowling Center That Started In 1972
Chacko's Family Bowling Center, destroyed in a flood in 1972, has remained resilient throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Barstool Fund lent a hand.
Barstool Sports founder and President Dave Portnoy has shared some tear-jerking videos online showing business owners learning that they have been accepted to receive a lifeline from his Barstool Fund to save small businesses. But Portnoy's latest video is, as he called it, "waterworks city."
In mid-December, Portnoy launched the Barstool Fund as congressional leaders continued dragging their feet in delivering further relief to businesses crippled by ongoing lockdowns across the nation, saying government won't get "off their a**." Since then, he has campaigned fervently to raise money to keep businesses afloat, to the tune of more than $18 million as of this writing.
On Monday, Portnoy posted a video of the fund's latest recipient learning the news that his family business had been selected to receive payments from Barstool, and issued a plea for further private donors to assist in the efforts.
"We already posted the Shinn Cleaners call," Portnoy tweeted in a message accompanying the video. "But here is the video of the daughter telling the dad. Waterworks city."
In the video, the daughter approaches her father and reminds him that she had reached to apply for the Barstool Fund's help, and upon hearing the news that they would receive assistance from the effort, her dad breaks down.
"That is so fantastic," he says, before being overcome with emotions. The father expressed his gratitude to Portnoy, and had difficulty getting out the words as he explained they needed it "so bad."
We already posted the Shinn Cleaners call. But here is the video of the daughter telling the dad. Waterworks ci… https://t.co/3hTw2eAe5C— Dave Portnoy (@Dave Portnoy)1609808992.0
Portnoy has shared several videos showing recipients expressing their gratitude. At the same time, the Barstool Sports founder has called out celebrities by name in soliciting major donations to accompany the $500,000 he gave himself to start the initiative.
Also on Monday, singer Kid Rock pledged $100,000 to the Barstool Fund, tweeting out a link to the fund on his Twitter feed explaining, "I only post this in hopes others as blessed as me may be moved to help out." The artist said, "THIS IS THE AMERICA I LOVE!"
THIS IS THE AMERICA I LOVE! https://t.co/j6ZgJWURlmPut me down for 100k. And I only post this in hopes others as… https://t.co/2j07ReSMpQ— Kid Rock (@Kid Rock)1609786487.0
According to Fox News, the $18 million raised so far came "from 139,500 individual donations and has supported roughly 74 small businesses."