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From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes. All right, listen up, Republicans. I don't know where you are right now, but walk away, step away from the cliff. No need to panic. Don't hit the panic button just yet.
Hello, everybody. I'm Todd Starns, and welcome to Starns Country. We have got a lot going on today. I mean, a lot. And let me just go ahead and give you a preview of what's going to happen at 11.
We're opening up our phone lines nationwide, and from 11 to 2, right here on the Mighty 990, we're going to have some folks from Congress and folks on Capitol Hill, some great pundits weighing in on what happened yesterday, breaking it all up. We're going to break it all down for you and explain what happened. And if you've been listening to K-Wham, if you've been listening to the Todd Starns show, you know exactly what happened yesterday. Yesterday was all about economics and it was all about education. And we're going to tackle those two big stories coming up a little bit later on.
So, Again, though, people are beginning to, you know, they're hitting the exit doors, they're hitting the panic button, and there's really no need to do that. Again, these elections were in blue parts of the country.
However, when you look at the down ballot races, that's where you can understand that we do have some problems and we've got to work through this. We're going to be taking your calls this morning as well to get your reaction on what happened yesterday and how do we stop this Republican bloodbath, which is what it was yesterday. It was a bloodbath. How do we stop that from happening in the midterm elections?
So, write down our telephone number. You can call in 901-260-5926. Again, our telephone number, 901-260-5926. And we're going to be talking about that this morning on the show. We'll be playing some audio from Zoron Mamdami's big speech last night.
You know, he went from happy Muslim to angry Muslim. And I think that was off-putting. Even Van Jones on CNN was like, whoa, what happened to Mamdami?
Well, surprise, the guy's a good actor. I mean, what do you want me to tell you?
So he's a really good actor. Actor.
So we'll get into that as well. I would encourage Governor Bill Lee to call a special session of the General Assembly. We need to immediately start shutting down Tennessee borders. We should accept absolutely no refugees from New York City. You guys voted for this nonsense.
You got to live with it, but don't bring it down to Dixie. That's all I'm telling you.
So, coming up a little bit later, our good friends from Strategic Financial Partners are going to be along. Also, we have a huge thing happening in DeSoto County today. Affordable Christmas every year, we raise thousands of dollars for our friends at Affordable Christmas.
So, kids in the Mid-South will be able to celebrate Christmas, have Christmas presents under the tree. And we're going to tell you about that a little bit later. But right now, we have some very special guests and we have a huge event happening at the University of Memphis tonight. Riley Gaines is coming to Memphis, and you have an opportunity to see Riley and hear her message. Curtis, Of our friends at Turning Point USA, TPUSA.
And we're so excited to have Ann Elizabeth Matheny, who is the Heartland Regional Manager of TPUSA, and Barrett Marshall, who is the VP of the University of Memphis chapter of TPUSA. Guys, good to have you with us in the wee hours of the morning here. Yes, good morning. We're glad to be here.
So, Barrett, yeah, I know you're barely struggling to be awake here. I get it.
So, we should have had you on the afternoon show, Barrett, but you're doing well and you look pretty alert. I'm trying my best. No, you're doing great.
So, Ann Elizabeth, let's talk about this big opportunity, Riley Gaines on campus. What is she going to be talking about today? Yeah, Riley is going to be at the University of Memphis. She is going to share her story, how it's impacted her life, and just the importance of protecting women's spaces, women in sports, as well as she just recently had a baby, a baby girl. And so I'm sure that is going to be a big discussion of everything she has worked for and just continuing to do so for her daughter.
Now, Barrett, we're still, what, two months, it's a little over two months out now, and it's just really hard to believe it's already been that long since the assassination of Charlie and the incredible work that he has done and the work that TPOSA continues to do. And I'm just curious, being there on campus, how is TPOSA doing? How are you guys being received? And are you seeing a lot of interest in the mission of what you guys are up to? Oh, phenomenal.
100% more interest. more sign-ups, more people that have been contacting us daily wanting to get involved. and help with whatever events we've got going on. I think that's an important thing. And it's, you know, again, we were talking about this before the show, Ann Elizabeth.
The idea that you guys are, it's not a matter of conjecture. You guys are going to have chapters on every single campus in the country. Absolutely. That's the plan. Our team is working tirelessly, you know, every single day.
And we're humbly doing it to make sure that we continue Charlie's movement and we make it bigger than it ever has been.
So I'm sure people are wondering: is there an opportunity for them to get tickets to bring their daughters? Because I think it's great for the young ladies of the Mid-South, especially to hear Riley's message. How can they do that? Absolutely. They can get their tickets through the university's site.
You know, they can find it on our social medias. I know I'm going to give it to you to be able to share as well. But we would love for the youth and the future of our country to be able to hear Riley speak tonight.
So it starts tonight and at 6 o'clock at the Maxine Smith University Center Theater. And you can't bring any bags or backpacks.
So if you've got to leave those behind, and that's important. There is parking available at the Zach Curland Parking Garage. If you've been on campus, you know it's a pretty easy walk over. That's not a big deal at all. You know, Ryan, when you look at the country right now, and so many young people have a passion.
They are looking to get involved. And Ann Elizabeth, you have the privilege of serving as one of the regional managers for TPOC. What are you seeing out there among America's young people? Yeah, I am seeing a move like no other. You know, I've been involved with Turning Point USA since 2020 as a college student, and I remember the days when I was begging people to know what Turning Point USA was.
And now every single person on college campuses and within the country knows who Turning Point is and who Charlie was. And so we have seen an interest of people wanting to get involved. Obviously, there's still pushback, but I believe the party of common sense, the party of a spiritual revival, is Turning Point USA, and people want to be involved with the conservative movement right now. I know both of you spoke at the vigils in Collierville and Barrett. That's when I really got to meet you.
And I really was so impressed. You know, it's tough when you're speaking to thousands of people out there. Even I get nervous. But you really did a great job. And I'm just curious why you got involved in the movement and why are you a conservative move?
Conservative. Yeah, well, I I was just thinking as y'all were talking. At this time last year My opinion, or what I saw going on, was you had a lot of young people that they wanted to. Blab about social issues and talk about them, but they didn't really have a clue about what was actually going on because they didn't take the time to do the research. And know what they were talking about.
With Turning Point USA, we give people the opportunity to do that research and figure out what exactly is going on, not just on political but social issues as well. And it'll all be young people that share similar ideas. I'm curious. We've seen a lot of young men, especially. I think the young ladies have been leading the conservative movement for a very long time.
I think that's certainly happening on the Republican side of things here in Shelby County, thanks to the Republican women. I mean, those ladies are ferocious in a very nice way, and they look very pretty as well, but they're ferocious. But I'm wondering about guys. Are guys here in the Mid-South joining the movement? Oh, yes, 100%.
And again, it was about this time last year that I said. The reason that you see more and more young men joining the conservative movement is that it In all honesty, at the heart of hearts, I think that most majority common sense young men that have conservative values. They want to be able to grow up.
Sort of family. Build a home. And Provide for that family. A year ago today, in the economy that we were in, you just couldn't do that. And I think that more and more young men, as they were growing up, were starting to see, oh my gosh, these political and social issues, they actually are starting to take effect on me and what my future plans are.
And as that started to click, they start going, you know what? I think I need to learn a little bit more about you know, what's going on and see how I can get involved. And so that's really what I believe has led me, but also. More and more young men towards the conservative movement and getting involved in how they can make change happen. I think that's it's it's a great thing you you just said.
And Elizabeth, and by the way, we're honored to have Ann Elizabeth Matheny, who's the Heartland Regional Manager for TPUSA with us, and Barrett Marshall, who is the VP of the chapter, TPUSA chapter at the University of Memphis. And Elizabeth, tonight, what sort of a mission, what sort of a message are we going to hear from Riley Gaines? Yeah, so she's going to talk for about 30 minutes again, just about her life, about the way she's been impacted, and how we need to carry the mission forward that Charlie started with Turning Point USA. And then she is going to open it up to a QA, which is going to be amazing. I'm hoping that we have some people that might not agree with us and that we can have a conversation because it's so important.
I mean, we had so many conversations on campus yesterday, and for people to truly think about the ideas they believe and be able to back them up, which a lot of times. Doesn't happen. And so it's important to be able to think critically. And I'm excited to see the conversations that are made tonight. Look, I love the QA more than the actual speeches.
Right? It's so I do a lot of these things around the country on these college campuses with YAF, Young America's Foundation. And the first time I did it, they didn't even bother to tell me. They're like, all right, we need you to do a speech. Oh, by the way, after your speech, you're answering questions, random questions from the audience for the next 45 minutes.
And it's funny because I brand those stump stars with the questions. But you're right. I mean, the students are, you know, they come with some really good questions, some thoughtful questions. Absolutely. And it makes you think as a person as well.
I think it's a healthy thing to do. Oh, absolutely. 100%. All right.
So, what's been the response on campus, Barret, to Riley Gaines coming to Memphis?
Well Not overwhelmingly bad. I mean, yesterday there were a couple of protesters here and there that were voicing their opinions. What were they protesting? She's a nice, she's a mom, you know, NCAA championship swimmer. You know, trans rights matter.
Don't make trans legislation. Oh, geez. Trans belong in sports. I think that what we've seen, though, is. This is an issue that, while political, more social, but it's honestly more of just a common sense issue.
And I think that the majority of folks, even those who may not be fully aligned. with the the right-wing conservative values. I think that they can still understand that, you know what? There is a biological Advantage that men have over women. And there really is no place for A biological man competing in women's sports.
Fair enough. We're going to leave it there. This is exciting.
So tonight, 6 o'clock, doors open. Starts at 7. Again, no food or drink, no bags or backpacks, and that's an important thing. Maxine Smith, University Center, and it's going to be great. Riley gains your opportunity to not only hear from Riley, but even possibly ask her a question.
Aunt Elizabeth, great to see you again. And by the way, can we say congratulations? You're about to get married very soon. I am. I know.
I'm so excited. It's going to be a beautiful Memphis spring wedding. Oh, that's going to be nice. It doesn't get better than that. Congratulations.
Thank you. All right.
I've met the fiancé. He's a good guy. He's a great guy.
So, all right. He's a lucky fella. Barrett, any announcements you want to make to America? You getting married or anything? Not anytime soon.
Here it is. We're focused on finishing the semester. Yeah. Just focused on finishing the semester. All right.
Well, your parents will be proud.
So, Barrett Marshall, great to see you as well. Guys, thank you. Folks, we've got to take a quick break. And again, we'll give you the information a little bit later on. But tonight, Riley Gaines, let's pack out that auditorium and give her a great mid-south welcome.
All right, let's check in with Commander Chuck. He's standing by with a look at your traffic. You know that big bargain detergent jug is 80% water, right? It doesn't clean as well. 80% water?
I thought I was getting a better deal because it's so big. If you want a better clean, tide pods are only 12% water. The rest is pure concentrated cleaning ingredients. Oh, let me make an announcement. Attention shoppers, if you want a real deal, try Tide Pods.
Stop paying for watered-down detergents. Pay for clean. If it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be Tide Pods. Water content based on the leading bargain liquid detergent. All right, I feel like today should be like a therapy session, ladies and gentlemen, for you Republicans out there.
Welcome back to Stearns Country. I'm Todd Stearns here in the principal Toyota Memphis studio. And we love standing alongside our conservative young people here in the Mid-South. And I hope by now you know that we're going to do whatever we can to help these young folks and promote what they're doing. And so we have an opportunity tonight to get out to the University of Memphis.
You can go to the Training Point USA website or the University of Memphis website. You're going to need a ticket. Because they have to scan and all that kind of stuff. But anyway, they'll make it simple for you. And again, tonight, six o'clock, the mission we carry forward, Riley Gaines, and she'll be speaking on preserving Conservatism at the University of Memphis.
All right, our telephone number: 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.
So, Zoran Mandami, we're going to call him Zoramadan. I think that's the official nickname we're giving him, Zoramadan, who last night. Turned its, it was almost like the switch was, you know, the switch was flipped, and all of a sudden, happy, smiling, jovial, jokey Zoron. All of a sudden, he became like a little angry Zoron. And here he is thanking everybody who made his election possible last night.
Cut number one. Thank you to those.
So often forgotten by the politics of our city, who made this movement their own. I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas. Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek. nurses Trinidadian lime cooks and Ethiopian aunties. Yes, aunties.
To every New Yorker in Kensington and Midwood and High.
So he went on and on and on. Let me just say this. He never thanked anybody on the east side or in Staten Island. That's where all the white folks live there. Here's what you need to know about New York City.
New York City is only, it's changed. There are not a lot of. Like American-born citizens in New York City anymore. I mean, there's been so much immigration now that American-born New Yorkers. Are a minority in their own city.
So, New York City is really not, in its core, an American city anymore. It's been literally overrun. And New York is a great example of what happens when you do not have strong borders and when you do not have a strong immigration policy. I'm not saying everybody there is illegal. I'm just saying that we have left immigration unchecked.
And New York City is going to fall. You know, this guy is out there and, well, I'll just, let's play this audio here. He never said anything about, well, he went out there and he thanked the founder of the Socialist Party in America. And then he thanked the founder and the father of the socialist movement and the anti-colonial movement in India. Cut number two.
The sun May have set. Over our city this evening. But as Eugene Debs once said I can see that. Dawn of a better day for humanity. Wow.
Um. He never thanked or he never quoted George Washington Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln John F. Kennedy Barack Hussein Obama never quoted any, no, no Democrat, no, no, no, he only quoted the radical, radical leftist. Those are the people that he thanked and he quoted.
And another thing, and I know this may seem trivial. But I think this is very important. I always like to read the transcripts of these speeches. I went back, read this guy's speech. And he never said, God bless America.
And I think that is the tell. That this guy has no intention of making America great. He wants to undo America. And hear me on this: Zoron Mandami. It didn't matter if Curtis Lewa had dropped out of the race.
It wouldn't have mattered. This guy won on a coalition of young people and predominantly women. The women and the migrants. They're the ones that put this guy in the mayor's office. And let me tell you something.
Uh, this is going to continue to happen, but as it now stands, New York City will become. a London or a Paris, there will be no go zones. And we're looking at New York City going back to, say, 1975 when it was a crime-infested hellhole. And all of that eventually led to Rudy Giuliani becoming mayor. Rudy Giuliani, being a U.S.
attorney, came in and cleaned the house. But there you go, ladies and gentlemen. And we'll talk about the lessons here for Republicans coming up a little bit later. We're also taking your calls: 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.
We'll be right back. All right.
I got to hear from some Republicans. I hear there was a throwdown. It was like a standoff last night in Germantown of all places between the Republican Party and the Democrat Party of Shelby County. I need somebody to call in and explain what happened. I'm hearing conflicting reports, but no, I don't think fists were thrown, but.
I don't think the Democrats know how to do that, Cassie. But it still got a little funky down there.
So we want to hear Cassie's like they're slapping. Oh, you bad Republicans. You bad, bad people. No kings, no kings. Where's my nursemaid?
Anyway, if you were there, we would love to hear from you. Jeez a lude, 901-260-5926. Hey, real quick, before we bring in our great guest. We're going to be talking to our friends at Affordable Christmas. We have posted a link to their website.
In our live show blog over on our Facebook live stream.
So if you hop over there, you'll see it. Click on that and you'll be able to make an online donation. If you can't make it out to Landers, Landers Nissan this afternoon in South Haven, then you can make a donation right there. Our goal is, I think, $20,000, and we surpassed that goal last year. And so you guys have been awesome and so helpful about it.
And we want you to lend a helping hand. All right, we got a lot to talk about here. And Chris Loftus joins us from Strategic Financial Partners. Every Wednesday, StrategicFinancialPartners.com, the guys come on and they help you as we maneuver through some of the big life questions. And Chris, good to see you.
I hear your cohort is under the weather. You know what? A low-grade fever is no joke, especially when you have an infant at the house. And so, Adam, I know you're listening, but praying for you, and hope you get better soon. Take a swig of the apple juice and pull up the covers.
There you go. That's how it's the best medicine right there. We've had so many, so many positive, so much positive feedback from you guys coming on every week. As a matter of fact, we just had Barrett Marshall from TPUSA, he's a student at U of M, and he was like, dude, I love strategic financial partners. And I'm like, dude, I love to hear that.
No, there's some great outreach that we have in terms of who we impact. Uh, young and old, and so uh, thankfully, we have a young cohort at our firm that serve serve our clients right alongside uh, you know, the experienced guys, so it helps out a lot. I love that. Uh, so today, uh, we're talking about life insurance and understanding life insurance, and a lot of folks think, oh, I don't want to jinx it, so I really, you know, that's why they don't get life insurance. But it's important to have it.
So, let's talk about term life insurance and let's kind of set this, set the bar here by explaining what that is. Absolutely. Well, To start out. Obviously, we've talked about Whole Life on this show before. Term is the renting the house versus the buying the house.
So, term is essentially renting it for a time of, say, 10 to 20 to 30 years. It really depends on your situation. And it depends on the amount.
So, certain people have certain needs, whether it's a mortgage, whether they have kids. And term insurance, you can choose the duration of the policy. Whether again, 10, 20, 25, 30 years, and whether it's $2 million, $1 million, $250,000, depending on your needs, and it will. Be covered. For that duration of time.
How it differs, though, for a lot of people, some people have mortgages, some people have kids, some people end up saying, Okay, hey, you know what? I'm single and I just bought my first house, but I don't have a family. What do I need this for? There's a big misconception out there about. Who Needs term insurance, what term insurance applies towards.
And the big thing we tell people is that you're paying for this stuff with your health, not your dollars. And that's a big thing that, you know, especially today, I'd love to talk about. Is that just for folks with families or dependents, single folks?
So absolutely not. And the reality is that for those people who are thinking about starting families, who are thinking about getting that house or even starting a business, which I think is something we don't talk nearly enough about, term insurance is a great solution, especially if you want to protect your insurability. Again, it's taking action on your financial future, which we talk about a lot on this show. The ultimate goal here is that: hey, you're looking at your situation, you're looking at your goals, and you're giving yourself the opportunity, that window of time, whether it is 20 years, whether it is 30 years, to say, hey, how long should I give myself before I want to make that decision to switch to permanent insurance?
So let's talk about that. How does someone know exactly how much term insurance they might need? That's a great question. Ultimately we tell them any General rule of thumb. is 10 to 15 times your annual income.
However, That general rule of thumb is just a starting point. It depends on everybody's situation. We want to make sure that whether you have a business, or whether it's you and your wife, and you and your wife are part of a dual-income household, or if you've got multiple kids, and guess what? They're going to be in the house until they're 20 years old. You wanna make sure that you've got something where if something happens to you that, and I'll just use a funny story, Todd.
Nine times out of ten, when I'm talking to young couples and I ask them, hey, if you, Mr. Husband, or if you, the wife, Uh gets hurt or unfortunately, God forbid, passes away. What's happening to your spouse?
Well, nine times out of ten, they're telling me, well, my spouse is good looking, so they can just get remarried. And I'm like, are you sure you want that's plan B? It's like, what are we doing here? And so, again, it goes back to taking action.
So, what we want to make sure people understand is it varies. It depends. And it starts with a conversation of coming to talking to us and saying, hey, what does your income look like? What does your debt look like? Do you want your significant other to be saddled with that debt should something happen to you?
What does that look like for each individual? And how are they being proactive with how they use it?
So we have Chris Loftus with us from Strategic Financial Partners and their website, strategicfinancialpartners.com. That's strategicfinancialpartners.com. You can also call Chris directly at 901-657-3324. If you have questions about anything regarding life insurance and finances, again, 901-2, I'm sorry, 901-657-3324. By the way, Adam is watching us on.
I hope he is. He says, Todd, thanks for the shout out. I will survive. That's good news. That's awesome.
And be ready for next week's segment. Love the K-When family.
So good. Kev well, Adam. He's on the DL list right now. Let's talk about misconceptions because a lot of people do have misconceptions about term life insurance. No, they absolutely do.
Well, the first one that we mainly hear is the affordability of it. They're just like, oh, it's too expensive. Oh, I'm 25. Why do I need that? Oh, I just don't know if I want to go to that.
Or another big one: oh, well, I have coverage, I have term insurance through my employer. Going back to what I said earlier, you're paying for it with your health, not your dollars. If you go ahead and lock something in now. 10 years down the road, when you are forced to think about it, it could be the difference of $100, $150. That's going to be something specific and very impactful in the long run of your financial plan.
Now Going back to what I was saying about the employee benefits. People soon. That they're covered and they don't need anything else because they have what that is, and they don't even know what the number is half the time. What people need to understand is that typically when it comes to their employee benefits coverage, That's capped at a certain amount. And so say that, hey, you're right out of college, you work your way up in a company for 10, 15 years, and you're like, hey, you know what, I get like two times, three times my salary.
Well, guess what? That might be capped. Or it might not be enough, because guess what? You know what we see, Todd? We see lifestyle drift.
We see a lot of people get really comfortable and then something happens to them and they've got a spouse and they've got their kids. And all of a sudden they're saying, Hey, why do we gotta move why why do we have to sell the house? That shouldn't be the option. That shouldn't be the last resort. All right.
Our segment is always about financial wellness and today, understanding life insurance, the term edition. And folks, if you would like to get more information, I want you to reach out to Chris. You can do that. I want to give the phone number again, 901-657-3324. That's 901-657-3324.
And Chris, I can also go to the website. Absolutely. Strategic FinancialPartners.com. All right.
Strategic Financial Partners.com. Chris, good to see you. I'm glad you're feeling well, though, Sniffles. Yeah, no sniffles. I will say it's a little nippy out there.
It's a little nippy out there. A little chilly. But Laura Huckabee over in the Weather Center says things are going to warm up today. We're going to be in the 70s. Hey, I'll take that.
Not too shabby. All right.
Folks, we've got to take a quick break here. Again, StrategicFinancialPartners.com. Go check. They have a great website. And if you've got any sort of financial questions, they're going to be able to help you out and get you pointed in the right direction at Strategic Financial.
Partners.com. All right, let's check in with Commander Chuck. Adam Martin is a registered representative of and offers securities and investment advisory services through INL Investors Services, LLC, member SIPC, Supervisory Office, 949, South Shady Grove Road, 8300 Miffsten, C3-120-901-767-5951. All right, welcome back to the It's charged country. Uh This guy named Joe Kent, Joe's been on the show before, and he posted this: Does Turning Point USA give a rip about public financial transparency and accountability?
Well, I don't know, Joe. You could call him up and ask. I don't know. What are you alleging the college children are doing, Joe? He also says, does KWham?
Give a rip about public financial transparency and account.
So, I'm just curious with Joe Kent here. Are we supposed to like grill every single one of our guests about their financial transparency? The next time Joe comes on the show, are we supposed to grill him about his own financial transparency? I don't understand what that's all about. Look, TPUSA, they are a, I believe they're a nonprofit.
And if they are, then you'll be able to find all that information because it is readily available to you.
So, you can do your own homework there. And by the way, that wasn't the point of the conversation. Riley Gaines is coming to the University of Memphis tonight, and you'll be able to see her. And we'll pass along that information again. If you'd like tickets, you've got to go to the University of Memphis website.
It all starts, doors open 6 o'clock, starts at 7 o'clock there at the University Center Theater. And it's going to be a wonderful by the way, tickets are free, so you'll be able to go and watch that incredible, incredible conversation tonight. And you'll also be able to ask Riley Gaines some questions. All right, I want to go to our Patriot Mobile newsmaker line, and we are just so honored to have Jeff Summers with us from Affordable Christmas. And we've been doing this for this is year number three for us.
And Jeff, we just love what you guys are doing and helping out the community.
Well, it is an honor, and I appreciate you having me on today.
Well, before we get started, I have to say that later this afternoon, you're going to be able to not only make a donation in person, but you're also going to have a chance to get this $250 gift card from our friend Jim Lesapio at Mesquite Chop House. That is an incredible opportunity. What you have to do, though, there's like a huge closet there, and you have to guess the number of balloons in the closet. Yeah. There's a car.
there's a vehicle that'll be there and we'll have balloons in it and you just come by and Put your guess in. Wow. That's cool. Rachel. That's today from 11 to 6.
Well, I was going to get to that. Hold on a second. Rachel Davis is the host of Front Porch Forum here on the Mighty 990, and she's going to be out at Landers Nissan in South Haven this afternoon, 3 to 6.
So you'll be able to meet her as well. All right, let's talk about Affordable Christmas, Jeff. What is it all about?
Well, Affordable Christmas is designed to provide low-income parents. in our South Haven schools, the opportunity to select toys for their children. And pay basically. Basically one tenth. Yeah.
pay in the store.
So for $9 per child, they choose three toys and three stocking stuffers per child. And so we partner with our schools, local South Haven schools, and the schools vet the families and And so they come through. Through and able to shop. And so, what kind of makes Affordable Christmas kind of unique and different than? kind of typical donation derives is that uh is its underlying principle.
And that's this. every parent is created in the image of God.
So that means that God has designed people with the desire and the abilities to provide. for their families.
So affordable Christmas is just kind of a piece of the puzzle. that addresses the dignity of being a parent. And so it affirms their God-given desire to provide for their own children and the joy that comes through that through that through their work and their efforts. And so So that's kind of the underlying principle that that drives this.
So it's not a it's not a handout, you know, so it's not bypassing the parents. to give toys to kids. And um And so parents have that joy of being able to come Would do that. You guys have been doing this for quite a while. And what's that experience like, watching these parents come in and pick out these toys for their kids?
It's incredible. years And so we shot set up a base. Yeah. in our in our church's gym and uh My parents come through it a At a specific time, and we have shop assistants, we have volunteers who help with help. The parents wrap the gifts and And so we'll have volunteers from our church.
We'll have volunteers from our Uh community partners. business partners, people from the school. Those kind of things who will come in and volunteer. And so they come in and It's it's very relational. Um we we want that A vital part of that.
It's just kind of one story that. always like to tell that kind of is a microcosm of What we're trying to what this is trying to address is that one One of our shop assistants spoke with a single mom who was raising two boys. And she shared some of the difficulties of raising two boys on her own. And they were just talking through that. And she and the shop assistant were wrapping the gifts.
Mom got to the point where she we wanted to put the name of uh And she asked our shop assistant, do I put the name of your church on it? And our shop assistant said, no, these You selected these gifts, you you bought these gifts, these are from you. And so that's just a little bit of what A lot of maybe low-income families will come in thinking, hey, this is. really not from me. And what Affordable Christmas does is it kind of flips that and says, Here, we're making it affordable, you're getting to select it and you're getting to put something towards that.
And so um it again, it it just uh reaffirms their dignity.
So are we trying to hit a certain dollar amount here? A dollar amount in terms of donations, or donations, yes. Yeah, well, with Landers. Auto Group, they do they've been partners with us Basically, all nine years. And this year, again, they are.
matching every donation up to seventy five hundred dollars.
So that that's you can donate all day today. You can go to reach. DeSoto M F Yeah. And you can donate through that website. they are matching every donation.
So you can when you give today, you double your impact. All those all the money Yeah. To a team from our channel. Yeah. They go and purchase the toys from the store.
or Amazon or whatever and get brand new toys in. The parents have a great selection.
Well, I think it's a wonderful thing, and I know our listeners get so excited to be a part of it. And again, folks, if you can't make it out to Landers Nissan in South Haven today, you can make a donation online, reach de Soto MS.org. That's reachdeSoto M S.org. And we want to hit that matching goal today: $7,500. The incredible generosity of our friends at Landers Nissan in South Haven.
And again, folks, Rachel Davis, the host of Front Porch Forum right here on K-WAN, will be out at Landers Nissan this afternoon, 3 to 6 o'clock.
So we want you to go out and say hello in person and make your donation. Yes, go ahead, Jeff. No, absolutely. come out and and say hello and And uh You know, put your guess in for the for the uh mesquite Chop house gift card.
So, all right. Uh, Jeff Summers with Affordable Christmas. Uh, thank you, and we look forward to seeing you out there this afternoon as well. Again, folks, that information, um, reach de SotoMemphus.org. That's reachdeSotoMemphus.org.
And we'll be out there. I'm excited about this whole car full of balloons thing. If you guess the number of balloons, or at least the closest number to the number of balloons, you're going to win a $250 gift card from our friend Jim Lesapio at Mesquite Chop House. And if you haven't been to Mesquite Chop House, it is one of the best restaurants in the Mid South. You're going to love it.
And we want you to go down there and have a great time. And even if you don't win, you want to grab some dinner over at Mesquite Chop House. Also, a reminder, folks, tonight at the University of Memphis. We're excited to have Riley Gaines in town. And Riley has been a fierce defender of young girls in sports, making sure there are no men lurking around the locker room.
And so we appreciate Riley standing up and speaking out, taking a stand. And she's going to be in Memphis, and we want to make sure that we have a wonderful, wonderful turnout tonight at the University of Memphis. And again, also, folks, we have posted a link to reachdeSotoMemphis.org on our website. And you can do that, or rather, our Facebook page, and you can head over there and check that out. All right.
Got to call it a morning. We will be back at 11 o'clock with a full breakdown of what happened yesterday. Don't panic, everybody. It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get through it.
Be good, everybody.
