PCM’s Carson King Becomes “Iowa Legend” Through Fundraiser

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UPDATE 1 pm : the total donation has topped the $1 million mark. King intends to keep his account open for charity until the end of September.

What started as a joke sign for a national TV audience turned into much more for a PCM graduate attending College Gameday in Ames.

Carson King, a 2014 alumnus from the school and a multi-sport athlete for the Mustangs, found his way to the front of the secondary stage when College Gameday came to Ames for the Cy-Hawk football game last weekend. A sign his family made as a joke to get a few dollars for Busch Light turned into an opportunity to do something good, King says, after it was seen on television several times throughout the broadcast. A friend had noticed King was getting several notifications of contributions to his Venmo account. He shortly announced after a lot of money started coming that he was planning to save enough to buy a case of beer, and the rest of the money would go the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

“After about $600, I was like, ‘oh, there’s a chance I could be doing something a little more special,” he says.

The gesture caught fire on media throughout the state, and eventually the country, and the viral post on social media has turned into more than $320,000 in his account alone as of 11 a.m. Sunday, which Busch Light and Venmo have pledged match in full to support the children’s hospital in Iowa City. Several organizations have also promised additional donations, and the total is rapidly approaching $1 million.

“It’s crazy, so I know I tagged Busch in the original post as a joke, and they ended up tweeting back at me at some time and they said ‘this is why Carson is the king,’ and that was kind of cool, and after awhile people just kept retweeting and retweeting, and it was getting more notoriety and they ended up tweeting at me saying they were going to match everything.”

Those who would like to make a donation can do so by sending funds to Carson-King-25 on the Venmo app. King has made headlines across the country, and was featured on ESPN, ABC, CNN, and other national outlets, both through television and online sources. Busch even made a special can for King, who they call an “Iowa Legend,” and they intend to send a year’s supply to him after the donation is made.

Hear the full interview with KNIA/KRLS from last Wednesday night:

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