1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,740 please tell me your first, last name 2 00:00:01,740 --> 00:00:05,260 and the name of your business, book, 3 00:00:05,260 --> 00:00:08,060 or anything else you'd like us to know. 4 00:00:08,060 --> 00:00:09,980 Okay, so I'm Jamie Truman. 5 00:00:09,980 --> 00:00:13,380 I am the co-founder of a volunteer-based organization, 6 00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:14,420 Truman Charities. 7 00:00:14,420 --> 00:00:16,380 I also am the host of our podcast, 8 00:00:16,380 --> 00:00:18,060 the Truman Charities podcast, 9 00:00:18,060 --> 00:00:20,900 and I am the author of Vanishing Fathers, 10 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:23,700 The Rebel Effect on Tomorrow's Generation as well. 11 00:00:23,700 --> 00:00:25,180 Oh, wow, okay. 12 00:00:25,180 --> 00:00:26,860 You have a lot under your belt. 13 00:00:26,860 --> 00:00:29,580 I like it, I like it. 14 00:00:29,580 --> 00:00:32,340 So when it comes to the Truman Charities, 15 00:00:32,340 --> 00:00:35,460 tell me about your vision for that. 16 00:00:35,460 --> 00:00:37,240 So Truman Charities, as I'd mentioned, 17 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,820 it's 100% volunteer-based organization, 18 00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:41,820 and we're a group of individuals 19 00:00:41,820 --> 00:00:45,400 that hold three annual events per year, 20 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,860 Halloween, a derby party, 21 00:00:47,860 --> 00:00:50,060 and then we have like a family fun event 22 00:00:50,060 --> 00:00:51,780 for various charities each year. 23 00:00:51,780 --> 00:00:54,300 We've raised, as of right now, 24 00:00:54,300 --> 00:00:57,980 a little over $2 million since we started 15 years ago. 25 00:00:57,980 --> 00:01:01,460 And obviously our vision is two things 26 00:01:01,460 --> 00:01:02,900 for me and my husband, Jerry, 27 00:01:02,900 --> 00:01:05,180 that's my other co-founder, 28 00:01:05,180 --> 00:01:09,700 is have an opportunity to bring the community together 29 00:01:09,700 --> 00:01:12,420 to do great things, like our tagline is like, 30 00:01:12,420 --> 00:01:14,580 when good people get together, great things happen. 31 00:01:14,580 --> 00:01:17,820 And that really is, like a lot of people want to give back 32 00:01:17,820 --> 00:01:19,060 and they want to get involved, 33 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:20,900 but they don't really have the vehicle to do it, 34 00:01:20,900 --> 00:01:22,980 or they're kind of confused on where to start. 35 00:01:22,980 --> 00:01:25,680 And so we kind of give that opportunity 36 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:27,660 to other people in the community. 37 00:01:27,660 --> 00:01:30,740 And then also this is something that me and my husband 38 00:01:30,740 --> 00:01:33,980 and the other board members feel 39 00:01:33,980 --> 00:01:36,140 that this is something that'll be great generationally. 40 00:01:37,860 --> 00:01:39,260 My stepson, he's 21, 41 00:01:39,260 --> 00:01:42,540 he's very much involved within the organization now, 42 00:01:42,540 --> 00:01:44,060 and I have two young sons, 43 00:01:44,060 --> 00:01:46,860 and my six-year-old is actually doing his, 44 00:01:46,860 --> 00:01:48,400 he's host of the family fun event. 45 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,040 So it's great to do something 46 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,700 where your family can also get involved. 47 00:01:52,700 --> 00:01:57,700 Absolutely, well, I love that, and when it comes to 48 00:01:58,700 --> 00:02:02,580 volunteering and being able to do it 49 00:02:02,580 --> 00:02:04,140 and do it for a good cause, 50 00:02:04,140 --> 00:02:07,060 I think that that has been a challenge even for myself, 51 00:02:07,060 --> 00:02:09,220 is just trying to volunteer and making sure 52 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:10,620 it's going in the right direction, 53 00:02:10,620 --> 00:02:14,700 as well as it is meeting also my morals, my goals, 54 00:02:14,700 --> 00:02:15,940 my values as well. 55 00:02:15,940 --> 00:02:17,620 So I love that for you. 56 00:02:17,620 --> 00:02:20,860 And you said you guys have been doing this for 15 years? 57 00:02:20,860 --> 00:02:23,180 Yeah, 15 years now. 58 00:02:23,180 --> 00:02:27,100 Wow, and when you did this, 59 00:02:27,100 --> 00:02:30,420 I also wanna know where did the vision come from? 60 00:02:30,420 --> 00:02:33,020 Was it something you just thought of or? 61 00:02:33,020 --> 00:02:34,420 So it was interesting. 62 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:36,940 I met my husband, I was 29 years old, 63 00:02:36,940 --> 00:02:39,740 and at that time when I was about 20 years old, 64 00:02:39,740 --> 00:02:42,200 my father had passed away, 65 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,720 and I decided to run a marathon to raise money 66 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,840 for a cause that was meaningful to me. 67 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,400 He had passed from, he had AIDS, 68 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,740 and so I ran a marathon to raise money 69 00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:54,980 for the Whitman-Walker Clinic, 70 00:02:54,980 --> 00:02:56,860 which actually helps people in the DC area 71 00:02:56,860 --> 00:02:58,380 that are living with HIV and AIDS. 72 00:02:58,380 --> 00:03:00,300 And since then throughout my 20s, 73 00:03:00,300 --> 00:03:02,780 I started doing that for other people, 74 00:03:02,780 --> 00:03:05,300 helping them and training them to run marathons 75 00:03:05,300 --> 00:03:07,500 for different causes and help them raising money. 76 00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:09,060 And then I met my husband, 77 00:03:09,060 --> 00:03:12,300 he had just started Truman Charities about a year prior, 78 00:03:13,420 --> 00:03:17,300 because he had run for Man of the Year, 79 00:03:17,300 --> 00:03:20,580 which for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so LLS. 80 00:03:20,580 --> 00:03:23,540 And that's this fundraiser where you have six, 81 00:03:23,540 --> 00:03:24,940 I think it's like six or eight weeks, 82 00:03:24,940 --> 00:03:27,220 and you try to raise as much possible money as you can 83 00:03:27,220 --> 00:03:29,020 so you have all different kinds of events. 84 00:03:29,020 --> 00:03:31,300 And he absolutely loved doing that. 85 00:03:31,300 --> 00:03:33,180 He had been very much involved in LLS 86 00:03:33,180 --> 00:03:36,260 because his grandfather had passed away from that. 87 00:03:36,260 --> 00:03:39,100 And then one of his good friends 88 00:03:39,100 --> 00:03:41,180 was in remission from leukemia, 89 00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:44,900 and she was raising money for Light the Night Walk 90 00:03:44,900 --> 00:03:47,780 through LLS and she asked for him to be a sponsor. 91 00:03:47,780 --> 00:03:49,740 And he was like, you know what, I'll be a sponsor, 92 00:03:49,740 --> 00:03:51,680 but let me see if I could do a little bit more. 93 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,220 So he had just a small party and he had, 94 00:03:55,220 --> 00:03:58,060 kind of like a bowl out, which is like checks and cash 95 00:03:58,060 --> 00:04:00,140 and a couple of solo cups cookout, you know? 96 00:04:00,140 --> 00:04:02,300 And he raised $8,000 that night. 97 00:04:02,300 --> 00:04:03,140 And he was like, you know what, 98 00:04:03,140 --> 00:04:07,100 this is really something that I think people would get, 99 00:04:07,100 --> 00:04:08,300 would be interested in. 100 00:04:08,300 --> 00:04:09,700 Cause a lot of people that were coming were like, 101 00:04:09,700 --> 00:04:11,140 you know what, I always wanna give 102 00:04:11,140 --> 00:04:12,460 and I wanna have a good time 103 00:04:12,460 --> 00:04:13,660 and I want everything to come in together, 104 00:04:13,660 --> 00:04:15,580 but I just really don't know how to do that. 105 00:04:15,580 --> 00:04:18,580 So it's been great since our first event where, 106 00:04:18,580 --> 00:04:21,940 my husband raised 8,000 to our largest event 107 00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:22,820 that we had last year, 108 00:04:22,820 --> 00:04:26,200 we raised $117,000 for that organization. 109 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:31,200 So it's been a ride, but it's been a lot of fun. 110 00:04:31,500 --> 00:04:33,460 Yes, oh my goodness. 111 00:04:33,460 --> 00:04:37,940 Well, congrats from the first year all the way till now. 112 00:04:37,940 --> 00:04:40,860 And you'd said something that gave me goosebumps. 113 00:04:40,860 --> 00:04:44,780 I was in the field of HIV and AIDS for about 114 00:04:44,780 --> 00:04:46,140 10 and a half years. 115 00:04:46,140 --> 00:04:46,980 Really? 116 00:04:46,980 --> 00:04:47,900 Yes, yes. 117 00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:52,500 And my first job was to answer the telephone 118 00:04:52,500 --> 00:04:54,260 with a big, big billboard 119 00:04:54,260 --> 00:04:57,180 and they would call and ask me how they get tested. 120 00:04:57,180 --> 00:04:59,740 And so I went from answering the telephones 121 00:04:59,740 --> 00:05:02,500 to answering really tough questions, 122 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:03,780 to being a case manager, 123 00:05:03,780 --> 00:05:07,000 to eventually becoming the COO of a nonprofit organization 124 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,500 in the field of HIV, AIDS, 125 00:05:08,500 --> 00:05:09,900 mental health and substance abuse. 126 00:05:09,900 --> 00:05:11,420 I have another question. 127 00:05:11,420 --> 00:05:13,980 What are the greatest joys of what you do? 128 00:05:15,140 --> 00:05:17,660 Oh gosh, wow. 129 00:05:17,660 --> 00:05:19,140 You know, the one, 130 00:05:19,140 --> 00:05:22,220 I can think about one thing that just recently happened. 131 00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:25,420 I got an email randomly from this man and he said, 132 00:05:25,420 --> 00:05:29,620 you know, because of your podcast, 133 00:05:29,620 --> 00:05:33,900 what I do is I have my grandchildren listen to your podcast 134 00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:36,220 and they have like a donor advice fund. 135 00:05:36,220 --> 00:05:38,620 And they say, when I make the girls listen 136 00:05:38,620 --> 00:05:41,340 and then pick a charity that they are passionate about, 137 00:05:41,340 --> 00:05:43,180 make like a presentation. 138 00:05:43,180 --> 00:05:46,100 And so then whoever has the best presentation, 139 00:05:46,100 --> 00:05:48,620 then they donate X amount to that organization. 140 00:05:48,620 --> 00:05:51,420 So I thought that was a really cool way for, you know, 141 00:05:51,420 --> 00:05:54,380 somebody to get their entire family involved. 142 00:05:54,380 --> 00:05:56,500 And then also, you know, 143 00:05:56,500 --> 00:06:01,020 just seeing the results of our events, 144 00:06:01,020 --> 00:06:05,440 we had, which was really, really moving. 145 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,700 We had our last, one of our events last year 146 00:06:09,700 --> 00:06:11,260 was for Strongest Hearts. 147 00:06:11,260 --> 00:06:14,500 And his son has muscular dystrophy. 148 00:06:14,500 --> 00:06:17,420 And one of the types of it, they, 149 00:06:17,420 --> 00:06:19,700 I don't know if you've heard, it's like CRISPR. 150 00:06:19,700 --> 00:06:22,620 And it's a type of technology or, 151 00:06:22,620 --> 00:06:24,500 and I might be kind of speaking a little bit. 152 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:25,780 I'm definitely not that. 153 00:06:25,780 --> 00:06:27,660 So they know a lot more about it, 154 00:06:27,660 --> 00:06:30,620 but what they needed is they needed money to research 155 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:33,220 because what they can do is they can halt the progression 156 00:06:33,220 --> 00:06:35,440 of this particular muscular dystrophy. 157 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,260 If they're able to raise, 158 00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:40,620 and they were having to raise about like $600,000 159 00:06:40,620 --> 00:06:43,940 for them to get from the beginning stages to the end stages, 160 00:06:43,940 --> 00:06:47,700 this would literally change the lives of these type of, 161 00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:50,220 these children that have that particular type. 162 00:06:50,220 --> 00:06:51,960 And we were able to raise, 163 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,940 and that was the one we raised our largest was 117,000. 164 00:06:55,940 --> 00:06:58,380 And they were able to reach that, their goal. 165 00:06:58,380 --> 00:07:01,860 So this is life-changing for not only their son, 166 00:07:01,860 --> 00:07:03,900 but so many other children. 167 00:07:03,900 --> 00:07:05,260 Thank you for being here today. 168 00:07:05,260 --> 00:07:07,740 I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. 169 00:07:07,740 --> 00:07:10,420 I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 170 00:07:10,420 --> 00:07:12,660 as these episodes continue to move forward. 171 00:07:12,660 --> 00:07:14,380 This is gonna get more and more fun. 172 00:07:14,380 --> 00:07:16,180 We'll have more and more engagement as well. 173 00:07:16,180 --> 00:07:18,300 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 174 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:20,660 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 175 00:07:20,660 --> 00:07:23,380 Have an excellent time building out your vision 176 00:07:23,380 --> 00:07:32,380 and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.