Business owner in Arizona in support of Barstool Fund: ‘The world has been lifted from my shoulders’

A small business owner in Arizona, Kevin Redden, said on Sunday that ‘the world has been lifted from my shoulders’, after receiving financial support from ‘The Barstool Fund’ at Christmas.

The owner of Pony Express Cleaners in Scottsdale said on Fox & Friends Weekend on Sunday with his daughter Patty that he was in the store on Christmas morning and did a schedule and was looking for whose hours I was here and there. bit could cut. “When he got the news.

“It’s one thing if you have to worry about your own life, but if you carry ten people and their families on your back, it gets heavy,” Redden said.

He added that the pandemic business has declined by about 90% for the first three to four months of coronavirus decline and is currently 75% lower.

Redden noted that although his business had ‘struggled’ throughout the pandemic, he had kept all his employees’ hours the same so far because he had financial resources, which he said were exhausted at this stage.

A video on social media shows Redden getting emotional in his store when his daughters tell him that he has been selected to receive financial aid from ‘The Barstool Fund’.

Dave Portnoy, founder of media company Barstool Sports, earlier this month launched the fundraising effort with the 30-day small business fund, which is affected by COVID-19, called “The Barstool Fund” and contributed $ 500,000 of its own money to the effort.

As of Sunday morning, ‘The Barstool Fund’ has raised more than $ 7.3 million from more than 66,000 supporters for 25 small businesses struggling during the pandemic.

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Portnoy launched the fund in a December 17 tweet, saying businesses can send stories to [email protected] to consider for the fund.

Portnoy shared video submissions from small business owners asking to be part of the fundraising effort on social media.

He also shared videos of business owners’ reactions to news that they had been selected to participate in ‘The Barstool Fund’, with several, including Redden, appearing emotional after hearing the news, often directly from Portnoy.

In Redden’s case, his daughters made the news after hearing about Portnoy.

Redden’s daughter Patty told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ that she applied to Barstool for relief with her sister because ‘we are both Barstool fans and that’s why we follow them on social media and she [Portnoy’s] campaign came up and I saw it and I was like, ‘Let’s give it a try. We have nothing to lose. We are already on the last leg, so maybe we can get help this way. ‘”

She said she was “in shock” when she heard about Portnoy.

“I think we almost all lost our minds that this was actually happening,” she said.

She added that she realizes that the chances of her family getting help from Portnoy’s fund are slim, as we are one of thousands and thousands of businesses that are in the same boat.

She further said that ‘throughout the pandemic we have done everything in our power to continue’ and that ‘we deserve’ to receive the relief.

“My dad works to the bone,” Patty Redden said. “He was here on Christmas day. Like, we’re locked up and he’s here at Christmas trying to figure out what he can do, but I know we are not the only ones. ”

She said she was ‘extremely grateful’.

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Barstool still accepts applications from small businesses to participate in The Barstool Fund and submissions can be sent to [email protected].

“The world has been shrugged off my shoulders like you would not believe,” Redden said Sunday. “Everyone who is responsible for the lives of others knows what the feeling is.”

He added that he therefore hopes that “everyone out there will reach out to Barstool and help them all.”

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FOX Business Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

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