T-R photos by Thomas Nelson Carson King talks to Rotary Members Tuesday at the Elmwood Country Club. The Carson King Foundation donated $10,000 to help Marshalltown recover from the derecho.

A statewide celebrity made a stop in Marshalltown Tuesday.

Carson King, founder of the Carson King Foundation who became famous about one year ago with a sign asking for beer money, stopped by the weekly Rotary Club meeting for a talk. His foundation gave the Marshalltown Community Foundation $10,000 for derecho relief.

“People see a need and they’re willing to help, no matter what it is,” King said.

He talked about his story where he tried to raise money for beer at an Iowa State University and University of Iowa football and raised so much that he gave it to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. He also went over the impact of social media on his life and his fundraising effort.

“When I talk with schools I always talk to them about taking ownership for your own actions,” King said. “Holding yourself accountable for your own actions is the most important thing you can do in your own life.”

He held a press conference last year to address offensive tweets he made.

“Three million dollars to go to the Stead Family Children’s Hospital; all of that could of easily been derailed by me making a senseless stupid joke when I was a kid,” King said.

He founded the Carson King Foundation on Super Bowl Sunday this year to benefit communities around the state.

The foundation gave money to mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We raised over $40,000 to help mental health services,” King said. “That was our first official fundraiser.”

Those funds were distributed to four organizations in Iowa.

His next fundraiser was after the derecho.

“We saw devastation all across the state,” King said.

He helped sell “Iowa Strong” shirts and the profits went to counties that were hit the worst.

“Us as Iowans, we have this thing called ‘Iowa Nice.’ It’s a very real thing,” King said. “People think it’s some overplayed term that we use to make everything seem hunky-dory. It’s not. It’s a sense of community that people have.

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Contact Thomas Nelson at 641-753-6611 or tnelson@timesrepublican.com