Barstool's Dave Portnoy raises money for veterans: 'No matter where you stand, they’re risking their lives'
Retired USMC Master Sgt. Davey Lind credits the Semper Fi & America's Fund with helping him overcome his injuries
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a fundraiser deemed "Viva La Troops," Barstool Sports raised about $200,000 for two veterans charities this month in a campaign that coincided with the Army-Navy game on Saturday.
"We’ve done military-focused charities for basically the entire time that Barstool has been around, since it was just myself, and we’ve been going to the Army-Navy game for the last six or seven years," Dave Portnoy, who founded Barstool in the Boston suburb of Milton nearly two decades ago, told Fox News Digital.
"Knowing that we go to the game, I thought this would be a good opportunity to raise some money for a couple of charities. It’s a special event."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Barstool matched every $100 deposit for new accounts on Barstool Sportsbook and sold Viva La Troops hoodies with 100% of proceeds split evenly between the Fisher House Foundation and Semper Fi & America's Fund.
ARMY-NAVY FOOTBALL GAME FEATURED UNIQUE MEMORIAL TO 7,000 FALLEN SOLDIERS
Davey Lind, a retired USMC Master Sgt., lost both his legs when an improvised explosive device exploded under his vehicle in Iraq in June 2007.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Semper Fi & America's Fund, which was created in 2003 by military spouses as the first wave of wounded veterans came home from the Iraq War, made contact with Lind just a week after he was wounded when he made it back to the United States.
"They stepped in at a crucial time, gave immediate financial and emotional support and lifted the challenges off my shoulders so that I could just focus on healing and recovery," Lind told Fox News Digital.
"We started that relationship then, in 2007, and I could call these ladies right now and they would answer the phone with, ‘Hey baby, what’s going on?' Who they are and what they bring to the situation is difficult to really put into words."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VIETNAM VET WANTS OTHERS TO KNOW: ‘YOU ARE NOT ALONE’
Portnoy and Barstool fans have come together in the past to raise money for veterans.
Matthew "Uncle Chaps" Mitchell, a Barstool Sports personality and Marine, celebrated Veterans Day in 2019 by encouraging people to donate to Headstrong, a non-profit that aims to heal "the hidden wounds of war" for post-9/11 veterans and their families.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports raised $200,000 for veterans charities this month. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Portnoy volunteered to match the total amount donated from Barstool fans, who had pledged $91,000 by the end of the day, so Barstool ended up raising $182,000 in total.
"The military, they’re caught up sometimes in the political climate of what is going on in this country, but it shouldn’t affect support for the troops. No matter where you stand they’re risking their lives for us," Portnoy told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"It’s always been politicized, but the actual people serving and putting their lives on the line and protecting our freedoms, that should never be political. Regardless of how you feel, they’re out there doing what they're being asked or told to do and risking their lives for us."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The other charity that is benefiting from Barstool's recent fundraiser, the Fisher House Foundation, builds homes and supplies lodging for military families to stay free of charge while a loved one is being treated.