Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski has inspired many things and many people. I would like to share my story of how "El Duderino" inspired us to start a non-profit charity organization. I was always a party boy whose idea of a good time was a “J” and an oat soda. My view on spreading kindness and affecting change in my community was to say, "That would be cool to do someday." After quitting drinking and partying I needed to transfer that energy somewhere.

I began volunteering at a men’s shelter and I liked it. Then I became a "Big Brothers Big Sisters" mentor. This led me to start a bowling team that fundraised for them. Our love for The Big Lebowski made it a no-brainer to call the team, "The Big Lebowski Brothers and Sisters." We would raise money to help troubled kids find mentors, and then we would bowl a game and drink a White Russian. Over a period of five years, our team raised almost $60,000! During this time, we also volunteered at homeless shelters, took water to Flint, assisted in tax preparation for those in need, took supplies to wildfire stricken Tennessee, and more. We decided that we wanted to do even more, but how?

After years of pondering how The Founding Dudes came up with what became Dude Charity. Much of what we were doing was trial (and sometimes) error. We planned on having some really cool events that would attract people to come regardless of the cause. Then we would direct money to local organizations to support missions that we agreed with. Our first event was "Dude Fest." We had bands, bounce houses and much more.

Basically we just had a huge party. We raised over $6,000 for Save A Warrior, an organization who deals with ending the Veteran suicide epidemic. We bought the rugs for their new facility! They really tied it together. Our next event was our “Lazy Duder” which is a 0.1K (328 Feet) fun walk. Dudes and dudettes made their way along lazy obstacles (bowling, Tai-Chi on the Dude’s rug, carrying Donny across the finish line, etc.) all while never spilling the Caucasian poured for them at the start. We donated proceeds from this to Ronald McDonald House Charities. They help families of children going thru major illnesses by giving them a place to stay during their tough time.

We are constantly trying to be the common man’s charity. We want to show all the dudes and dudettes out there that you can be any regular old Donny or Maude and do some real good in the world. Whether it is time, money, direct involvement or inspiration, we want to pass along how helping others in need can make you feel. We hope that you will support us in any way you see fit. Donate, buy some merch, read our articles in the Dudespaper, or just keep track of us on Facebook and Instagram. I appreciate you letting me tell the story of Dude Charity. In April 2020 we will celebrate two years of being a 501(c)3 non-profit! Check us out at dudecharity.org and "Dude Unto Others As You Would Have Them Dude Unto You."

You can learn more about Dude Charity at DudeCharity.org

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Our goal is to spread the good word of The Church of the Latter Day Dude, the fun of Achiever Fest and Lebowski Fest and the Joy of seeing The Big Lebowski (for the first or fiftieth time)!.