This Charity is Sick: “All In Challenge”
On Today’s Inaugural Episode of This Charity is Sick, we’re featuring the “All In Challenge”:
In a world full of so much uncertainty and negative developments surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic, we’re due for some positivity. You may have noticed a few of your favorite celebrities on Twitter or Instagram with posts revolving around donations of the ‘All In Challenge’ (AKA #ALLINCHALLENGE). I’ll be honest, I think I first saw it a few days ago while mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. I noticed Meek Mill donating his 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom. An iconic vehicle for anyone, but Meek’s? That’s basically a hip-hop artifact. It took me a bit of time before I realized this wasn’t a one-off circumstance, that this was just one piece of a charitable phenomenon. That caught my attention and led me to the rabbit-hole I’m about to ask you to join me in.
Fanatics founder and Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin kicked off the ‘All In Challenge’ on Tuesday, and it’s been a whirlwind of celebrities and global icons donating experiences for people to donate toward since. (Side note – it makes since that Meek Mill was an early contributor considering his strong relationship with Rubin and the Sixers organization.)
What’s the cause?
100% of proceeds are divvied up and donated to each of these 5 food charities: Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, America’s Food Fund, Feeding America, and the World Central Kitchen. Most of those charities are household names, without any explanation needed on the necessity for donating to them. Obviously the goal is to raise as much money as possible in order to support as many of those in need (as well as first responders) as they can. Food insecurity is always a cause for concern in the US, but with COVID-19 impacting so many aspects of society, that concern has heightened dramatically. So many groups in dire need, among them: students who normally relied on schools for many of their meals each week, those that are recently unemployed, those at-risk elderly individuals left in their homes, possibly without access to food.
Early success in this campaign is through the roof. By mid-day on Wednesday, the $ Ticker shows over $4 million raised (and counting!!!). The website is powered through Fanatics, so it’s super-easy to use and navigate while adding your preferred donations to your cart.
What’s the concept?
Two main types of items right now. First are the ‘Enter to Win’ items. Essentially a raffle-type donation for a chance at winning an experience by the donor. Tickets/chances to win start at just $10. The other type of item is a good-ol’-fashioned auction where the highest bid wins.
What are the ‘prizes’?
I understand, you’re probably chomping at the bit for this part. No shame in that! Zero amount of exaggeration when I say I was FLOORED by seeing this many great experiences up for grabs. It was heartwarming to see icons of industry donating and doing their part to chip in toward these causes. There are too many to make me feel like I’m giving the movement justice, but I will highlight a handful of my personal favorites.
Ultimate Sports Fan Experience, donated by Michael Rubin
https://www.fanatics.com/ultimate-sports-fan-experience/p-25868761916396+z-9003-3316287613
Okay – I skimmed by this one initially to check out the appealing names and photos, but holy cow. Rubin is obviously a big player and a great philanthropist for orchestrating all of this. But this!!! The value here is through the roof. I have to regurgitate the list of things you deceive here because it’s utterly WILD.
One $100,000 Fanatics gift card. Holy toledo, Batman – that’s a lot of Mitchell & Ness Celtics jerseys!
Air-travel and hotel stays for 2 people to attend the below events:
Tickets to: Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Game 1 of the World Series, College Football National Championship Game, Daytona 500, The Masters Tournament, US Open Men’s & Women’s Championship, NCAA Men’s basketball Final Four games (both semi-finals and championship), the Olympic opening ceremony and assorted events. Whoa. What a package. That’s enough for an entire lifetime of sporting experiences. I’d die happy with attending just one of those events in my lifetime.
Oh, and lastly, tickets for the winner and TWENTY friends to have a suite for the Super Bowl, as well as invites to the Fanatics tailgate and party. 21 people. Twenty-one. I can’t even wrap my mind around the dollar-value of that type of experience.
Shout-out to Michael Rubin. You’re a real one for this.
One-Day Contract To Play With The Mavs, donated by Mark Cuban:
Not going to lie, this one got me riled up. I was clicking through to find the details immediately and trying to check my odds on winning. This might be my favorite, and the one I decide to donate towards. A little curious as to how they would ensure the winner shoots an in-game free-throw, but it’s preseason so anything goes. Mark Cuban is the best Shark on Shark Tank. Do not @ me. Rick Carlisle is a top 5 coach in the NBA that everyone forgets about. Meeting Luka Doncic alone might be worth putting all my eggs in this basket. The more I write the more I question if I’m actually a Mavs fan, not a Celtics fan. I gotta chill out.
Walk-On Role In A Scorsese Film With DiCaprio And De Niro:
This one is so wild that I had to read all of the details just to make sure it was in fact real (it is!). Walk-on role in a Scorsese moving should be enough, but then a day on the set with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro?! AND lunch with Leo and the cast?! MY GOD – these are incredible experiences. I haven’t even mentioned the inclusion of an invite to the red carpet premiere. I might toss a few bucks towards a chance to win this one. Could be worth it! My theoretical grand-kids would get sick of hearing about that time Martin Scorsese yelled at me on-set! Those whipper-snappers have no idea how good they have it!
Texas Football Sideline Experience With Matthew McConaughey:
Listen, I’m not even a Texas fan, but wow. I can’t even imagine rubbing elbows with Matthew McConaughey nevertheless while on the sideline at a UT game?! If his entrancing Lincoln commercials are any indication. It would probably take McConaughey less than 3 minutes of speaking with me before I’m screaming ‘Hook ’em horns!!!!’ at the top of my lungs.
Justin Bieber Sings “One Less Lonely Girl” At Your House:
Dear dudes in relationships – don’t buy this as a gift for your girlfriend. Plenty of other options to donate toward as a gift to her. It’s your call, and with how much this one has blown up, your odds are low… but c’mon. Witnessing Bieber serenade my significant other while she probably weeps of joy is a nightmare of mine. Very cool experience to buy some chances to win otherwise.
Tampa Bay Home Opener, Game Jersey and Dinner with Brady:
As a Pats fan, this one stings a little bit, but for charity – I will press on and hype it up as it deserves.
Honestly, even though this is an auction I do not have the financial capabilities of beginning to fathom how I could swing it. And, we’ve only got over 300 hours left of the auction. This one is that a great of an experience. The winner gets to bring 3 friends to attend the Bucs’ home-opener. Solid. Winner receives first home game-user jersey and cleats. Wow – very cool. Choice of private workout with Tom Brady or private dinner in the Tampa area with the winner and their group. WHAT?!?!
You mean to tell me I could bring 3 friends and go through a workout with Tom freaking Brady?! That’s just insane to me. If you’re a super wealthy person reading this – please bid on this one. Then pick your 2 best mates. Then pick me as your third guest. As someone who never played organized football, I promise you I won’t upstage you during the workout.
Quick hits on a few others:
Meek Mill’s 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom auction:
https://www.fanatics.com/meek-mills-2018-rolls-royce-phantom/p-36544460281875+z-9601-2485714239
Throw Out The First Pitch At The Next World Series:
Appear on the Cover of Sports Illustrated:
Sit In The LAFC Owners Box With Will Ferrell auction:
In summary and summation; DONATE!
I hope after reading through these you’re all as inspired as I am to chip in and do what I can to help those in need. For those able to donate, I encourage you to do what you can. For those not able due to any circumstances, understandable, but don’t leave it at just that. Still do what you can, by passing on word to those that are able to chip in.
Maybe none of these float your boat or you’re just not into feeding into the whole societal celebrity-hype machine. I get it, and instead you can donate directly toward the charities of your choosing. We all know it takes a village, so let’s come together when those in need are put into situations that require a village.
Use Promo code “couchguy” or “LLP” at Manscaped.com and grab some of the best tools in men’s below the belt grooming. Using the code will get you 20% off of your order AND free shipping. Help out the site and help out yourself by buying some products from Manscaped TODAY.
Follow this link and signup for Seated. The restaurant reservations app that will get you discounts and other gifts just for using the app to reserve your table at your favorite restaurants in Boston: seated.s2l3a2.net/c/2016892/705985/10715
-Mike Gilligan (@BigGilli, and @SmallStateTakes Podcast) – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/small-state-big-takes/id1432138166