The Truman Charities Podcast

$175,000 Raised in 2025: What's Next for Truman Charities in 2026 | Ep.162

• Jamie Truman • Episode 162

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$175,000 Raised in 2025!  Learn what we  have in store for 2026 and how you can get involved.  We have decided on our 2025 charities as well. 

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Email: info@trumancharities.com

This episode was post produced by Podcast Boutique https://podcastboutique.com/

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Truman Charities Podcast. This is Jamie Truman, your host, and happy new year. This is our first podcast of 2026. And now when I'm recording this, this is December, right before Christmas when I'm doing this. I hope that everybody enjoys their holiday season and their new year. I know that I am very much looking forward to the new year. We gave our children for Christmas a trip to Legoland in Florida. So I was looking for some nice sunshine. I need a little vitamin D. I don't know about you guys, but right outside here, we're the DMV area. But it gets dark around about 4:30 and it is cold. And I definitely have seasonal depression. And it seems to get worse as I get older. As soon as the sun goes away, I think I need more of that vitamin D. Then I just get really lazy and want to stay in the house. So I'm hoping that everybody somehow found some sunshine, at least over this holiday season. But I wanted to go over what Truman Charities was able to accomplish in 2025 and what our plans are in 2026. If you don't know about Truman Charities, I am the co-founder. We've been around since 2010. We are a 100% volunteer-based organization, which means that every single dollar raised goes directly to the charity that we are helping. We've raised at this point$2.7 million since 2010. And we're able to do that by hosting three events per year. We have a derby party, we have our family fun event, and then we have our Halloween party. Jerry and I cover the expenses of all of the events. So every single dollar raised goes directly to the charity. A few years ago, back in 2020, or no, back in 2021, I began the Truman Charities podcast because there's only so many organizations that we can help. And I wanted a place where people could go to learn about different organizations and find one that really resonates with them so they can either donate andor volunteer. And then about two years ago, I started interviewing people in the community. You know, either if I heard like a really good author or somebody that was doing some great work, like through a podcast or something like that. I'll have them on the podcast as well. And we do a donation to every nonprofit that we talk to as a thank you for all the wonderful work they're doing. And so when I talk to individuals that are doing great work within the community, we're still able to pass on that donation because we ask them what charity is really meaningful to them. And we make a donation on their behalf. So let's talk about 2025 and what we're able to accomplish. Shrim Charities was able to raise$175,000 in 2025. And I will break down exactly how we were able to do that. Of course, we wouldn't have been able to do any of this without our wonderful sponsors. And we'll let you know how you can become a sponsor and get involved within Truman Charities, which is a really great win-win opportunity that we have for especially someone that has a small business. So at their Derby party, I interview all of the nonprofits that we host events for. And that was for Interfaith Works. And they do so much within the community for so many different people. We really focused on their job placement and training program. So we raised$48,000 for that particular program. And I spoke with CEO uh Courtney Hall. They help people facing homelessness, hunger, and unemployment and emergency services. And we focused, as I said, job training and placement program. So they make long stability possible. Then in September, we had our just trying it. So just trying it is an organization that raises money for local families that have a child in treatment for pediatric cancer. They do this by hosting a kids' triathlon. So my children are participated in it. And then they also had a lot of their friends. They created a team. So I think there were about 10 little boys and one girl that was on the team. They raised$15,000. And that was we were very proud of them for that. Then we had our Halloween party, where we raised money for Salute Military Golf Association. Again, I also interviewed the executive director, CJ Johnson, and Purple Heart recipient Jason David. And they showed us how golf can become a therapeutic rehabilitative tool for wounded veterans. Through physical activity, mentorship, and community, SMGA helps veterans reclaim strength, purpose, and confidence. I interviewed another veteran, Ramon Bedelia, who was wounded in Afghanistan. And he talks about how SMGA really did save his life. He said it gave him purpose and it helped with rehabilitation for him and so much more. So make sure to listen to that episode as well. So I have two different episodes on SMGA. So our podcast, since we do donations through our podcast, our podcast was able to raise close to$10,000. And then my book, Vanishing Fathers, The Ripple Effect on Tomorrow's Generation. All the proceeds from that book go to charity. So this year we will be able to raise just a little under$10,000 through our book's proceeds. That total has raised since the launch of the book, close to$100,000. So we're very happy about that book has been able to be an avenue for us to be able to donate more to charities. And these are charities that help at-risk youths. Jerry and I, and through Truman Charities, we've donated about$50,000. So total,$175,000 was raised this year through Truman Charities. And again, 100% of the money raised goes directly to charity. So total, Truman Charities has raised$2,711,675, which we are very proud of. So 2026, let's hear what we have planned. So our Derby party is going to be the first Saturday of May, and that is going to be for the National Leomyo Sarcoma Foundation. We have found out about this particular cancer, LMS, because one of Jerry's best friends, his wife, unfortunately passed away from this this year. We learned a lot about this particular cancer and how underfunded it is, since it is a rare cancer. And so this organization is grassroots and they are raising money for research for LMS. We really wanted to honor my husband's, you know, very dear friend and his wife that passed away by able to raise money for a cancer that really gets overlooked quite a bit since it is rare. So I want to make sure that you put that on your calendar. It is for May 2nd, and it starts, we start this one a little bit earlier because of the actual derby race. So I believe it starts at 5:30, but we'll have to double check on that. But put that in your calendar. We have these fun little horse derby races. We have live auction items, raffle tickets, great sponsorship levels, which I'll talk about in a little bit. We, of course, we always do a prize for best dressed. So that is going to be our derby party. And then we have our family fun event, which is always going to be just trying it as both of our boys and a lot of his friends are on a team and we want to raise money for local families that have a child in treatment for pediatric cancer. And this event is really great because the kids are involved and it's a family fun event. It's at the Knights of Columbus. We have a moon bounce, we have Marazzi Pizza Truck, we'll have shaved ice. Then, of course, we have the TVs on for football, and we have an open bar for the adults. It really is a fun family event that's going to be from 2 to 5 p.m. And that will be September 13th. So make sure to put that in your calendar. And then, of course, we have our Halloween event. That is always going to be the Saturday before Halloween. That's her for the kids. For the kids is an organization, it's a local organization that's raised over$700,000 for local families. So what they do is they find a family that's suffering from a serious illness and is in need of financial support. And they'll choose their beneficiary very soon. So in probably a few months, I'll be having a podcast and I'll be letting everybody know exactly the local family, who they're going to be helping, and how you'll be able to participate in that as well. So there's a lot of really fun stuff to look forward to. We also have our Bethesda's best happy hours that aren't charitably inclined, but we have those four times a year. They are just happy hours for people to get together to meet other people in the community that are doing great things. It is really fun, you know. I mean, I guess it's technically a networking event, but it really is just a bunch of people getting together and having a great time. So I want to tell you how you can get involved within Truman Charities with our annual sponsorship. We have other sponsorship levels, but I was, I have to say that I think this is the best opportunity that we have for people to get involved. It's a real win-win. Our charities are getting a wonderful donation. And then you're able to really take this to your advantage and either promote your small business by either bringing guests like clients, or you can even bring some employees as like a thank you. Because when you have the$2,500,$1,000 goes to our Derby party,$500 goes to our family fun event for just trying it. And then we have our$1,000 for our Halloween party. And then 100% goes to the sponsored charity. When you're a$2,500 sponsor, you get 25 raffle tickets plus eight guest tickets and an entry into our special sponsor raffle. You get to vote for best dressed at our Kentucky Derby party and our Halloween party. And I gotta tell you, people get wild, especially at the Halloween party, about these votes. It is, it is no joke. People come to win because we do not disappoint with our prizes. We get really good prizes. For instance, last year at our Halloween party, the individual best costume got a two-day stay at a Salamander's resort in Spa, which is, by the way, my favorite spa in the area. And then the group/slash couple winner received a week vacation at a beach house that is a half a block from the beach. So people really take this seriously as they should. And then you also get recognition before, after, and during the charity events. I make sure that I do a podcast episode where I talk about the sponsors prior and then I do one after on our recap. And then during you'll be, you know, all over on the boards and you'll be recognized multiple times throughout the event. And then we have, of course, I mentioned Urbethes' best happy hours, which are four times per year. And you're able to bring eight guests to each one of those at no charge. So we have a lot of really exciting things coming up in 2026. We are very excited that we were able to raise$175,000 in 2025 and that we have raised two, a little over$2.7 million total since we began. We couldn't have done this without your support, especially our sponsors. So we really want to say thank you to all of you. You guys are fantastic. And everybody that listens to this podcast, you don't know how much that really does mean to me. I put a lot of time and work into this. And so it is nice to see that we're ranked in the top 2% of all podcasts. So seeing actually those numbers makes me think like, okay, well, at least all this work, all this work is worth it because people are actually listening. So that's great. So thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast and to be involved with Truman Charities. We, you know, we really, again, we really do appreciate it. So if you want to follow us, if you're not following us already, uh, make sure to follow me on Instagram at Jamie underscore Truman Charities at Facebook at Truman Charities. You follow me on LinkedIn at Jamie Truman. And uh if you haven't already, please go to trumancharities.com, sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss any of our upcoming events and also our Bethesda's best happy hours. Again, if you have not rated and reviewed our podcast, please do so. That is the best way for new listeners to find out about our podcast. Thank you again for tuning in to another episode of the Truman Charities Podcast. Happy New Year! And I cannot wait to see all of you at one of our events this year. Until next time,

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Jamie Truman

Host