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Rob Gronkowski is one of the greatest tight ends ever, but that's all in the past. He's working on something more important than football.
The New England Patriots legend and his longtime girlfriend, Camille Kostek, partnered to create Voomerang, which Gronk describes as "a fun digital sweepstakes platform with the mission of life-changing prizes while raising awareness for various charities."
In announcing their venture that began earlier this month, Gronk and Kostek took the streets of Boston to ask people if they'd rather take $100 or have Gronkowski and Kostek donate $200 to charity.
"All the kids took the $100," Gronkowski said with a laugh in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "I loved it. They just wanted to take the money and run."
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Rob Gronkowski and Camille Kostek attend the annual Charity Day hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald and The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund Sept. 11, 2023, in New York City. (Chance Yeh/Getty Images for The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund)
Gronkowski and Kostek gave $200 to anyone who chose to donate the cash because "the good comes back. That is our motto," he said.
The new venture is also a full-circle moment for the couple. They met at a charity event on Thanksgiving eve one year.
The four-time Super Bowl champion founded his own "Gronk Nation Youth Foundation" in 2013, and Voomerang is helping raise money to "give back to kids that are less fortunate that didn't have the opportunities that I had growing up to succeed."
"I was very fortunate enough to have an amazing situation growing up with brothers — older brothers, younger brothers and all their friends — to play sports 24/7. Even though all my gear was hand-me-downs, I still had gear to play all the sports," Gronkowski said.
Rob Gronkowski and Camille Kostek attend the annual Charity Day hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald Sept. 11, 2023, in New York City. (Chance Yeh/Getty Images for The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund)
Kostek is focusing on raising money for the Peter Frates Family Foundation. Frates played college baseball for Boston College. Shortly after he graduated, he was diagnosed with ALS. He succumbed to the disease in 2019, seven years after his diagnosis, but not before becoming synonymous with the Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral in 2014. The challenge raised over $200 million for ALS research.
"They're unbelievable. They're a great family. … They represent such a great cause to ALS. Camille does such a great job representing as well. She's such a great partner to be with," Gronkowski said.
But it hits home for Gronkowski and Kostek. Gronkowski is a Boston legend, and Frates has become one too. But the couple have seen what ALS is like firsthand.
"My brother's wife's dad actually passed away from ALS a few years ago after learning all about ALS after Peter Frates," Gronkowski said. "That's how I kind of learned about ALS. Camille's friend, also, her mother passed away. She was really close to the mother, as well, and still very close to the friend.
Camille Kostek and Rob Gronkowski at the annual Charity Day hosted by BGC Group and The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund Sept. 11, 2023, in New York City. (Rob Kim/Getty Images for The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund)
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"And that's why it just made sense to Camille to represent and bring awareness to the Peter Frates Family Foundation for ALS research. ALS is just extremely costly to treat, man. It's just wild, the situations families can be if one of their family members is going through ALS at that time.
"It's a great cause what Camille is doing to raise the awareness. It's nothing you want to see anyone go through, but it's cool that Camille and Voomerang just overall are raising awareness to help the people out that are struggling in that situation."
Those who get involved in Voomerang's sweepstakes by the time the New Year's ball drops can win two Chevy Corvettes or two luxury vacation packages valued at over $140,000. To enter the sweepstakes, visit Voomerang.com.
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