The Giving Game

This is a special two-guest episode. Former professional soccer player Kelyn Rowe joins The Giving Game alongside a very special bonus guest, Erik Rees, founder of the Jessie Rees Foundation (NEGU — Never Ever Give Up), to tell the story behind one of the most moving nonprofits to appear on the show.Erik shares the story of his daughter Jessie, diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor called DIPG at age 11 in 2011. During treatment, Jessie noticed other kids in the hospital who couldn't go home, and asked her parents, "How can we help them?" That question led her to create Joy Jars — 64-ounce jars filled with toys, games, and activities for kids fighting cancer, which she made by hand in the family garage. Jessie passed away 10 months and two days after her diagnosis, but her family chose to continue her mission. The Jessie Rees Foundation has since sent out more than 600,000 Joy Jars to children in all 50 states and 53 countries, alongside programs supporting siblings, financial assistance for families (including $3.5 million distributed through their Hope for the Holidays program), self-care support for mothers, and grief support for bereaved families.Kelyn explains how he got connected to the foundation and created Kelyn's NEGU Crew, a program bringing courageous kids and their families to professional soccer games to be celebrated by the team and the crowd — including the story of David, a young cancer patient from Brazil who Kelyn stayed connected with for years and later saw cancer-free as a high schooler. Kelyn has since passed the torch of hosting NEGU Crew events to current players, while staying involved himself. The conversation also touches on host Sophie's own experience with her son's serious health scare in the hospital, why the foundation intentionally supports the whole family and not just the sick child, and Kelyn's post-soccer life running Vino FC, a community-driven wine business built around in-person tastings rather than shipped subscriptions.If this story moved you, you can support the Jessie Rees Foundation using the link below.This episode includes discussion of childhood cancer, terminal illness, and the loss of a child. If this topic is difficult for you, please take care while listening.What We Cover(00:02:01) Erik shares Jessie's diagnosis and the question that started it all: "How can we help them?"(00:03:53) Jessie's passing and the family's decision to continue her mission(00:05:01) The Jessie Rees Foundation's full range of programs, from diagnosis through bereavement(00:06:06) How Kelyn got connected and created Kelyn's NEGU Crew(00:07:15) What drew Kelyn to this cause over other children's charities(00:08:00) David's story: a young cancer patient turned lasting friendship(00:09:56) Finding families to help while respecting hospital privacy rules(00:13:41) Turning tragedy into purpose: "Jessie is living on through this"(00:15:53) Sophie shares her own family's hospital experience(00:43:25) Life after pro soccer: corporate insurance broker by day(00:44:09) Vino FC: Kelyn's community-driven, pickup-only wine business(00:59:02) Advice for anyone who feels discouraged when their giving isn't immediately appreciated(01:01:43) Where to donate and get involved with the Jessie Rees FoundationSupport the Jessie Rees Foundation👉 Website: NEGU.orgCommunity members can also volunteer at Joy Jar stuffing events or cheer on courageous kids at sporting events near them.

Former NFL running back Terron Ward joins The Giving Game to talk about the Wardboy Project, the foundation he co-founded with his brother to support underprivileged youth in the East Bay Area — the pocket of cities east of Oakland including Antioch, Pittsburg, Concord, and Brentwood that Terron and his brother call home.Terron breaks down the foundation's three main pillars: DRAW, a mentorship program pairing middle schoolers with dedicated mentors for weekly check-ins, tutoring, and guidance; the TK Scholarship Program, named in memory of Terrence Kelly, a standout De La Salle student-athlete and family friend who was shot and killed in 2004 before he could start college, which now covers private school tuition for kids who couldn't otherwise afford it; and the Bay Area Skills Academy, a free annual football camp that just wrapped its tenth year with roughly 200 kids in attendance. The foundation also recently held its first Student Athlete Summit, a full day of programming with 20 speakers ranging from college coaches to financial experts covering everything a student-athlete needs to know, including NIL.The conversation moves into the harder-to-talk-about parts of life after football: the identity crisis that hits when the structure of a 20-year athletic regimen disappears overnight, why confidence-building is one of the most important things a coach or mentor can give a kid, and how coaching philosophy has shifted away from the "screaming coach" model of Terron's father's era. Terron also shares a piece of advice from an unexpected source — a billionaire he met at a bar who told him to stop chasing his dreams and start chasing his talents — and reflects on fatherhood, raising two daughters, and why he believes real growth is never linear.If Terron's story moved you, you can support the Wardboy Project using the link below.What We Cover(00:02:19) What the Wardboy Project is, and why Terron and his brother started it(00:03:44) Inside the DRAW mentorship program for middle schoolers(00:04:43) The TK Scholarship Program, named for Terrence Kelly(00:05:37) The Bay Area Skills Academy: 10 years of free football camps(00:06:08) The foundation's first Student Athlete Summit(00:09:11) The identity crisis that hits after leaving pro sports(00:11:28) His father's coaching legacy and the "domino effect" of mentorship(00:13:52) Why instilling confidence is top of the list for coaching kids(00:15:12) How coaching philosophy has changed since his father's era(00:32:03) "Chase your talents, not your dreams": advice from a chance encounter(00:36:21) Why Terron has always been process-oriented, not just goal-oriented(00:38:26) Fatherhood and raising two daughters(01:00:39) Why "they're famous, they can't have money problems" is a myth(01:04:11) How to support the Wardboy Project without giving money(01:03:36) Where to donate and follow the Wardboy ProjectSupport the Wardboy Project👉 Website: wardboyproject.org 👉 Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @wardboyprojectCan't give financially? The Wardboy Project is always looking for mentors and event volunteers — or connections to others who might be able to support the mission.

Recorded in-person in Kansas City, former NBA player Kareem Rush joins The Giving Game to talk about University Heritage Group (UHG), the exclusive alumni membership brand he built to reconnect former college athletes with the schools that shaped them — and to give current student-athletes a cut of the profits.Kareem breaks down the concept: each university's membership club is capped at the number tied to that school's founding year (Missouri's is 1839, KU's 1865, Georgetown's 1789), creating built-in scarcity similar to a private club like Soho House. Members get access to Kareem's growing product line — starting with a bourbon brand and expanding into coffee and more — with 5% of membership revenue funneled into an NIL fund supporting underserved sports like volleyball, soccer, and baseball at each school, since football and basketball typically absorb most NIL dollars. Kareem's own daughter, a senior on Mizzou's volleyball team, is part of why that focus is personal.The conversation ranges from Kareem's read on NIL and why he believes players deserved compensation all along, to his NBA career — playing alongside Shaq, Kobe, and Phil Jackson, facing Michael Jordan in his rookie year, and the ACL microfracture injury at 29 that ended his career years earlier than he expected. He also opens up about a parallel life in music: a Billboard Top 40 single, a performance at the ESPYs, an appearance on 106 & Park, and an almost-audition for The Voice. Kareem closes with a message for the next generation of athletes: don't put yourself in a box, because you are more than the game.If Kareem's story moved you, check out University Heritage Group using the link below.What We Cover(01:46) What Kareem's building with University Heritage Group (UHG)(02:52) How the exclusive, founding-year-based membership model works(04:41) The first five schools: Missouri, KU, Maryland, Georgetown, and UCLA(04:48) Scaling to 120+ university label designs and the PAC athlete network(05:53) Why 5% of membership revenue funds NIL support for underserved sports(06:59) Kareem's take on NIL: "It's only right that some of it trickles down"(10:25) What Kareem would tell his younger self about basketball and beyond(11:40) "Inherited fandom": why college loyalty outlasts pro team loyalty(17:38) The ACL microfracture injury at 29 that ended his NBA career early(17:59) A parallel career in music: a Billboard Top 40 single and an ESPYs performance(18:31) Rap and singing battles on the team bus with Shaq(42:13) Who Kareem looks up to in athlete-turned-business: Jordan, LeBron, Steph Curry(43:44) Why athletes give back even when it's not broadcast(45:14) Kareem's message to the next generation: "You are more than the game"About Kareem RushKareem Rush is a former NBA player who starred at the University of Missouri before being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, going on to play alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and under head coach Phil Jackson. After an ACL microfracture injury ended his playing career at 29, Kareem built a career as an entrepreneur and recording artist, and is the founder of University Heritage Group, an exclusive membership brand connecting former college athletes with their alma maters while funding NIL support for underserved college sports.Check Out University Heritage Group👉 Website: https://universityheritage.club

Former NFL kicker and Super Bowl champion Martin Gramatica joins The Giving Game to talk about the Gramatica Family Foundation, which began by building mortgage-free homes for combat-wounded veterans and has since expanded into rehabs, home repairs, and partnerships with organizations like Pinellas Habitat, Operation Finally Home, and Home For Our Troops as full home builds have become harder to fund.Martin, born in Argentina and raised there until age nine, shares why supporting veterans became personal — a deep gratitude for the freedom and opportunity his adopted country gave his family. He tells the story of Charlie Lemon, the foundation's first recipient: a Tampa veteran who lost both legs and his best friend in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan, and who is now, in Martin's words, "part of the family" — married with a son and still running the foundation's annual 5K in his wheelchair every year.The conversation moves through Martin's path from Kansas State to a Super Bowl title with the Bucks, raising three bilingual kids (two of whom followed him into kicking at USF), calling Buccaneers games in Spanish alongside his brother, and his day job running early-detection CT scans for heart disease and cancer — a side career he says has saved friends' lives. He and Sophie also swap notes on being terrible at golf, why charity golf tournaments are more about connection than a good scorecard, and how helping veterans has reshaped his own perspective on what's actually worth complaining about.If Martin's story moved you, you can support the Gramatica Family Foundation using the link below.What We Cover(00:57) What the Gramatica Family Foundation does, and why the mission has evolved(01:49) Why veterans: Martin's personal connection as an immigrant from Argentina(04:43) Football gave him an education, a Super Bowl, and a home in Tampa(09:18) Seven homes built from scratch, dozens more impacted through partners(10:03) The story of Charlie Lemon: the foundation's first recipient(13:33) Mortgage-free vs. interest-free: how the home programs actually work(16:48) Martin's day job: early-detection CT scans for heart disease and cancer(18:02) Calling Buccaneers games in Spanish with his brother Santiago(19:31) Inside the full-body cancer and heart screening technology(43:21) How veterans get connected to services through the foundation's partners(45:30) How to volunteer: the annual 5K, golf tournament, and build days(46:17) Why Martin hates golf but still shows up for the charity tournaments(50:18) Where to find and follow the Gramatica Family FoundationAbout Martin GramaticaMartin Gramatica is a former NFL kicker and Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, born in Argentina and raised in Florida from age nine. He is the founder of the Gramatica Family Foundation, which has built mortgage-free homes for combat-wounded veterans and now partners with organizations across the Tampa Bay area to provide home repairs, rehabs, and other veteran support services.Support the Gramatica Family Foundation👉 Instagram: @martingramatica7 (Martin's personal account and the foundation's account) 👉 Get involved: email through the foundation's website, or join the annual 5K or golf tournament as a volunteer: https://gramaticafamilyfoundation.org

Former NBA player Gary Forbes joins The Giving Game to talk about The Sole Survivors — a children's multimedia platform he created featuring superhero characters who each live with a different chronic health condition. Gary is one of only three players in NBA history to compete with type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at 19 after his freshman year of college, and he built The Sole Survivors as the project he wished existed for kids like him growing up on X-Men, Thundercats, and Power Rangers.Gary walks through the comic universe's concept — 102 characters, each representing a different chronic condition, all searching for a cure inside the story the way real kids search for ways to manage their own diagnoses — and why he built it for children specifically rather than adults, since kids are still forming the mindset they'll carry into adulthood. He shares what it's like visiting hospitals and schools with the books and merch, the "0.006%" odds he beat to reach the NBA as a type 1 diabetic, and his father's relentless positive-reinforcement parenting that shaped how he processed his diagnosis.The conversation also covers fatherhood (his two-and-a-half-year-old son, watching his wife go through a 42-hour unmedicated labor, and what it's like being "mom's baby" for the first year and "all dad" after), the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, his strict 80/20 plant-based diet, and Gary's newest obsession: golf, including his one-year goal of turning pro and his own golf apparel brand in the works, Hooks and Slices.If Gary's story moved you, you can support The Sole Survivors using the link below.What We Cover(01:43) What is The Sole Survivors, and why Gary built it(04:23) Why children — not adults — are the focus of the mission(10:35) Visiting hospitals and schools with the books and merch(15:33) The X-Men influence and the 102-character comic universe(22:49) Watching his wife's 42-hour unmedicated labor(28:26) The 10-year vision: "I want people to know The Sole Survivors like they know Disney"(29:12) Building the world's first health and wellness league app(33:00) Beating 0.006% odds: playing in the NBA with type 1 diabetes(37:12) Diagnosed at 19: the hardest first year with insulin and needles(40:20) Type 1 vs. type 2 diabetes, explained simply(42:04) Advice for anyone newly diagnosed with diabetes(43:34) Denouncing the stigma around what type 1 diabetics can and can't do(44:16) His strict 80% plant-based diet and the "Rolls-Royce" analogy(48:11) Taking up golf as "life's game" and chasing the pro tour(52:32) Gary's closing message: "Your present situation is not your final destination"(53:06) Where to donate to and follow The Sole SurvivorsAbout Gary ForbesGary Forbes is a former NBA player and one of only three athletes in league history to have played with type 1 diabetes. He is the founder of The Sole Survivors, a children's multimedia platform built around superhero characters who each represent a different chronic health condition, designed to help kids facing serious diagnoses see themselves as capable of greatness rather than limited by their circumstances.Support The Sole Survivors👉 Website: TheSoleSurvivors: https://thesolesurvivors.com (search "The Sole Survivors") 👉 Instagram: @GaryForbes_ — Follow The Sole SurvivorsCan't donate right now? Share the mission — tell a friend, a family member, anyone who might connect with the message.