EAGAN, Minn. – For the fourth consecutive year, Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr and his mom, Lori, will help host a wine-tasting fundraiser as co-founders of the Raise the Barr foundation.
This year's virtual event is slated for Saturday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and will be free to guests. Registration is required and can be completed here. Participants can purchase ONEHOPE wine by July 2 to benefit Raise the Barr and be guided through a tasting by ONEHOPE wine's CEO Jake Kloberdanz.
Proceeds from the event will support scholarships, emergency grants and more for single-parent undergraduate students. Raise the Barr hopes the fundraiser will match the $50,000 it committed to emergency grants in Minnesota and California for the upcoming year. The grants were provided to scholarship recipients in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The evening will be filled with interactive entertainment and special guests as they raise awareness – and a glass – to the impact Raise the Barr continues to have on single-parent families.
Founded in 2016, Raise the Barr was established to provide financial support to single parents wishing to further their education. The foundation applies the whole-family model to post-secondary success for single-parenting students with the ultimate goal of increasing the economic mobility of the entire family.
An auction will take place throughout the evening and will include Vikings memorabilia items such as a signed helmet by Kirk Cousins, signed football by Dalvin Cook, various items signed by Barr and other pieces available to bid on during the course of the event.
The virtual celebration provides a safe environment and opportunity for friends, fans and the greater community to experience a wintery with a purpose, have a personal experience with notable athletes and special guests and financially support Raise the Barr, which is actively benefiting the community.
In addition to his annual fundraiser and helping ensure this year's bevy of emergency grants, Barr is a regular visitor to Jeremiah Program, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that lives out the mission of Raise the Barr and works to end the poverty cycle two generations at a time. The program offers safe housing and a supportive community for determined single mothers to pursue a college degree while providing quality early childhood education.
"I kind of see myself in these kids, when I was – not too long ago – in the same position. And I see my mom in the moms there, working hard to better themselves," Barr has explained. "It just feels right. It's a natural fit."
With the help of those who are able to participate in the July 11 fundraiser, Barr and his foundation will continue to keep boots on the ground for Minnesota families and in his home state of California. The Twin Cities have become close to the linebacker's heart since being drafted No. 9 overall by the Vikings in 2015.
"When you establish yourself somewhere … it kind of naturally becomes 'home,' and you want to make it feel like home as much as possible, so you start doing things you would maybe do back home. You carry those actions or those traits or whatever to your current location," Barr said. "I think the person I am, how I was raised to try to impact others and try to be that positive influence, I don't think it really matters where I am or how long I'm somewhere. I try to bring that wherever I go."
