Tim Virgilio of Signatures for Soldiers "Hobby Helping for Good" E361

Sports Guardations, Hobbies, the People, Wheely News and Interviews. It's your number one song, Sportscarnations hobby is the People, Sports Garnation. What is up? Everybody? Welcome to episode three sixty one. Sports Carnation back again.

Have a alumnus guest returning today. But it's been a bit since he's been on, and guy's doing big things for great deserving people. If you haven't figured out who I might be talking about, talking about none other than Tim Virgilio of Signatures for Soldiers again, been on multiple times, right, But what he's doing we can't talk about enough. This is a guy that started this organization double digit years ago and you know what a goal to raise five hundre buck and he's at half a million almost and that's uh, that's crazy.

One hundred percent goes to the charity which helps injured and disabled vets with things they may need, whether that's paying some bills, keeping them housed, the wheelchair ramp, whatever it may be. And you know, he's gotten a lot of pro athletes involved now that are are willing to help out and donate some memorabilia and signed things, and it's become a year round thing. It's not as it's not as nine to five job, but takes up some of his time after his nine the five job, if you will. That's dedication, and really really appreciate him and what he does and how he cares.

And I've often told him like he has pretty much carte blanche. Anytime you want to come on the show, something going on, you need to talk about an event or whatever the case may be. I reached out to him in this case and thought, man, we haven't had him on in a while, it's time to have mine. He just relocated from Florida to the Texas as well, so we'll talk about that to boot.

So enough with that, let's take a quick break and then bring Tim on. Always happy to have this next gentleman on the Sports Cardination guest line. He is a veteran alumnus of the show, if you will. We've done it in this fashion through video, we've even done in person at the show, specifically the National and I'm talking none other than Timbergilio Signatures for Soldiers.

Welcome back as always, Tim. Thanks John, great to see as all. Yeah, and listen, you know you know I love what you're doing. I do a lot of people.

You know, how long has it been? Now I'm losing track myself, but there'd be a time I could tell you, And. Now I think i'm losing track as well, my friends. No, it's actually next month, November will be eleven years. Wow, God bless you and all the great work while you're doing, which we're obviously going to talk about.

Speaking of November, that'll be seven years of this show. And you know, just easy, we're both at the teeth. Yeah, I was gonna say, quite the impressive intro there. I need to need to talk to your graphics guy.

Yeah, yeah, that's not me. That was that was freelanced out. I'm not going to take any credit. I can't try.

It's like your tim so I'm sure not doing stuff like that. But that guy, his people who know what they're doing, they can they can fill in those gaps. And you know, speaking and knowing what you're doing, you're you know, eleven years and obviously you're further ahead today than when you know, like we've talked before, when you first started the organization, you had a goal raising five hundred dollars. Obviously you're you're well past that now into the six figure last time I knew.

I mean just obviously when you start with a smaller goal like that and then where you are now. I mean, just talk about sort of the evolution, Like did you imagine that you'd be where you are today with with signatures for soldiers? Nah? Absolutely not. I mean you know this, We've talked about this time and time again. You know, we started in November of twenty fourteen and kind of starting to take my passion, you know, of collecting autographs and merging it with my passion to help veterans and reaching out to athletes ask them if they would sign a couple of cards.

You know, I'd sell the cards for a couple of dollars apiece, and then the money would go to a charity to help homeless and disabled veterans. You know. The goal, like you said, the goal was five hundred dollars. You know at that time, I mean I didn't even have a name to it.

I didn't have a logo to it. You know, it was just one of these things. Let me just raise the five hundred dollars donated to charity and call it a day. And you know, I figured it would take a little while to do, you know, because I was only selling you know, two, three, four or five dollars autographs.

I mean, it wasn't a huge and my god, you know, eleven years later, this thing is just taken off, you know, and now kind of kind of all bringed it up. You know, got the name, got the logo, got T shirts, got hats, you know, get get invited to the nationals. And every year since twenty eighteen, so what this year was, what year five as COVID COVID year was was canceled. So yeah, it's it's been.

The evolution is just it's been more than I can ever ever have imagined. It's has been very grassroots effort. A lot of people in the hobby have gotten behind it, you know, collectors, dealers, companies. It's just amazing.

It's it's absolutely amazing. And I think the thing that I'm really I'm most proud of, and my wife and I talk about this is the Signatures per Soldiers has become more than just a vehicle to generate money to help homeless and disabled veterans. It's become a community. And you know, there's there's people I've become extra like yourself that I've become extremely good friends with that, I probably would never have crossed paths with if I wasn't doing this.

And you know, my wife and I genuinely that people to help. They just sometimes what I think, there's two things that stop them from helping. One is they don't think that what they can give will really make a difference, so they don't give. And then the other is they just don't know how to help.

And I think Signatures for Soldiers has become a vehicle for both. You know, right now we're sitting at since I started this, we're sitting at over four hundred and fifty thousand dollars raised. And that's literally been I mean you've seen it firsthand. It's literally been you know, two, four or five dollars at a time, and it adds up really quickly.

You know, it's amazing. Yeah, I'm just speechless. I mean, the evolution has just been it's been very organic, very grassroots. It's been I'm just I'm blessed.

I'm blessed. I'm overwhelmed. I'm amazed. Well, and the hobby's blessed to have you, the organization and the veterans that get they get help to buy the money raised.

Right are are blessed as well. And and like you said, it is a community, right, And we hear all the bad stories in the hobby, right guys or people, you know, whether it's robin or scamming, or trimming or altering. The list goes on and on, right, And those are real stories, unfortunately, and they need to be talked about, right. But for every one of those bad stories, right, there's ten good ones.

And sometimes I don't think and I try not to be guilty of this, but sometimes I don't think we highlight those good stories enough, especially when they do outnumber the bad. You know, It's it's like when you turn on the news, right, they always lean with all the negative stuff, Christ because that's it's train wreck mentality people for whatever reason, that's just human nature, good or bad. You know, we flowed down at a wreck and try to see and but you know, there's so many good we I don't think across it's not even just a hobvy thing, I just across society. I don't think we cover all the positive story enough.

But you were gonna say something, No, yeah, I was. Gonna say exactly the same thing. I mean, you watch half an hour of the news and you know, twenty five minutes of it is what's wrong, what's you know, what's been bad going on? And then there's a two to three minute segment of oh hey, here's a little feel good story. Okay, onto the next thing.

But yeah, yeah, no, I think for me, you know, doing this has has really renewed my faith in humanity in terms of just all the great people that I've met who just give very selflessly and and basically they want no recognition in return, just like, hey, I just want to be a part of something that's truly making a difference in somebody's life. I mean, I've had you know, I think one of my favorite memories from from the National. It was the first National that we did in twenty eighteen in Cleveland, and we were kind of tucked back in a corner, nobody really knew us, you know, that type of thing, and you know, going into it, I think I agree it is at that point, like thirty two hundred dollars and we did almost four thousand that weekend, which I was thrilled with, you know, and you know, I remember this, this young boy comes up to me with his grandmother, and you know, the kid who's probably seven, eight years old, you know, and and he reaches in his pocket and he says, here, this is this is for the soldiers. I hope this helps.

And he hands me one dollar, and you know, it just brew me. It literally brought tears to my eye. I'm kind of getting emotional now talking about it. But it's just such a cool experience.

You here's this, you know, eight ten year old kid just going you know what, this is what I can give, and I want to I just want to do something. Yeah, it was just it was real. Yeah, very cool. And and again you know with that and and and deservedly so that's just uh, you know, no matter how old you are, right or whether and then everyone has or has had at least one family member, if not more, right serve in the military or maybe unfortunately, you know, make the ultimate sacrifice as well with some of the early wars.

And and you know, I come from a military family, so uh, it hits close to the home for me. And we forget, you know, we we think I think sometimes we're guilty. Not so much me, but I think some people are guilty of like they you know, they think, well, if you don't get killed in action, which obviously we hope never happens. Then there's then you just come home and everything's you're okay, right, we don't realize that there's injuries besides, uh, you know, casual where people will lose you know, unfortunately uh you know, limbs and and and things like that, where mobility becomes uh an issue and and obviously you know what you do can can maybe build a ramp or make someone's house successible uh to their disability.

Uh. And you know, so the ultimate sacrifice isn't always a light, but you lose uh, you know, some of your abilities to maybe walk and do certain other things. I think sometimes we forget about that, uh you know, aspect of military service and so besides, you know, besides the monetary and helping to get some of these things that these folks need. I think it also sheds light like a sacrifice is not just losing your life, but in other forms as well.

And I think that's important to know, right. I think I think sometimes we lose the in between, right, You're like, everyone thinks it's just either get killed, serve in your country or you don't. And it's not as it's not as black and white as there's other things. Uh, you know that happened in between that money raise goes to to do to do some of that stuff, whether it be a wheelchair rem kind of talk about, you know, where some of these moneys go.

And think about this, Tim and and I know ramming on here, but it's important. Right from that five hundred dollars to almost you're almost up to half a million bucks. I was thinking about that today and I just just to even say that out loud is ridiculous. Yeah, you know, you're talking about you know, we were talking earlier about kind of the news cycle, you know, and uh, you know military you know, military veterans.

You know, it's not not really in the news cycle right now. So it's kind of out of sight, out of mind type thing. And you know it's I think, you know, people think, oh, well, you know, they serve in the military, they come out and have a pension or the federal government care of them or something like that, and that's not always the case. And you know, I think what the other thing that's been really cool for me and even my life has talked about this is how many veterans are in the hobby collected.

And you know, you and you touched on it that you know, Signatures for Soldiers has kind of become this platform that allows us, you know, and and I use that term very broadly because you know, anybody that's involved. That allows us to really talk about what the veteran issues are, you know, and keep them at the forefront. And you know, it's amazing. You know, we'll be at a show and you know, a veteran will come up and oh, you know, I served in the Army, the Marines, whatever, and then they'll just start to openly kind of talk about either their military experience or maybe some of the struggles that they've had coming back and just generally adjusting to non military life, which you know, which which is which can be very difficult.

But yeah, you know, as far as the money we've raised, my god, do we have enough time to even talk about how we've used the money? Just just this week, let's start with just this week, it's fresh in my head. We have paid let's see, we've paid a security deposit for housing and electric for veteran who has been homeless and is now getting into affordable housing. So obviously he didn't have they for the security deposit for the electric or or the apartment. So we paid that literally just the other day.

So now literally this weekend he's going to be the housed for the first time over a let's see what else. Oh, we've had two female veterans who fell behind on their rent, so we've brought that current, so we've kept those two ladies from being evicted. That's a veteran needed some help with paying or a car for car repairs. That that's just this week.

That's just this week. My god, We've we've done so many other things. We've we've written out we've written out checks to other small nonprofits that help homeless and disabled veterans that align with us so they can do their great work. You know, again, we're getting a lot of requests from paying over the rent or security deposits.

Just the two weeks to three weeks ago, we paid the security deposit veteran who is homeless and getting in safe affordable housing. So literally, as of two weeks ago, he's safely housed for the first time in twenty years. So this guy's been homeless, you know, I mean, I know for me, and I take this for granted, I've never had to worry about where I'm my head or gonna have. You know, I've been extremely blessed, So just to think about something like that, it's like, oh my god, I can't even fathom.

We've had a veteran was paralyzed basically on tree trimmingsiness fell out of a tree and basically is paralyzed from chest down. And in order to keep the business, he has to have a specialized off wheelchair so he can needed to supervise his cruise. So we paid This was a couple of years ago. We paid the brand new specialized wheelchair for so he could keep his business and continue to provide for his family.

We've purchased furniture for formerly homeless veterans who've gotten into safe and affordable housing, because you know, you take somebody who's homeless, put them into a one bedroom apartment and all they've really got clothes on their back and carry. So so we've purchased bed, purchased couches, you know, pots and pans, gift cards to go food shopping. It's just what we're trying to do is you know, where one nonprofit and as far as their services and where another one begins, there's typically a gap in there, and we're trying to fill those gaps. I'm not I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel of what's already being just to fill the gaps, to bridge them from one to the next.

And you know, the like I said that, everybody wants to thank me for the work that I'm I just keep saying, it's not me, it's all of you. You know you havn't on a show to talk about this and reach one more person who doesn't know about us. It's huge, you know, this. Is I appreciate that about you, Tim, You're very like you like to spread debt credit around.

I think that's a testament to the person you are. Time to hear from one of our great sponsors. But Sports Gardination will be right back after that. For nearly fifty years, Sports Collector's Digest has been the voice of the hobby, bringing you comprehensive coverage of the sports collectible industry from industry news, auction results, market analysis, and in depth stories about collectors and their collections.

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You are listening to the Sports cond Nation podcasts. You're doing a lot of a majority of not all like the logistics and the heavy lifting, right, And I know you don't like to pat yourself on your back, so that's where I'll come in and do it. Boy, this is where you're gonna interrupt me. Yeah, this is I've gotten better at this, but I'm gonna make an exception except here because I know you're you're just sort of being the John Stock auditioning out credit here.

But again, this was your this was your launching right And I know there's you mentioned some other organizations, right, but we're at this point we're talking about singers soldiers. This is what you've built over the past eleven years. Right. Again, you you've we've talked about this, right.

All charity is good, right, but some of the times, not all the funds go where you think it's going. That's not the case here, as you've stated on this show before. Right, you're not taking a paycheck. You have a job.

So one hundred percent of what people do give and donate goes to the effort and the cause. And that's you know, that's not common in most charities to be blunt honest, and yet it is with signatures. And again that's uh, that's you know, hats off to you, uh for for doing that. And it's also you know, you're giving of your time, right, it is a lot of work.

You may not always say it or advertise that. I know, you know just from knowing you, uh, you know you don't do it half assed. Pardon my language, you know, you know that's a grind, right, Just I just do shows as a dealer, and it's a grind. So you're doing that when you set up at these shows with the signatures for soldiers, inventory to travel, just getting organized when you get stuff sent to you just to kind of put it where it needs to be going to ship out in those cases.

Right, So there's just so many different things you have to do. It's not like someone just donates fifty bucks and it just goes in the bank account, which is that's great too, but it's not. It's it's way more than that, as you well now when certain other people probably do as well, you do that because you want to, because you care, and I think that needs to be you know mentioned. And I know again you don't always give yourself a lot of credit, and you're very generous in giving others uh kudos.

But it's there is no signature, you know, let's let's put it this way. Signatures for soldiers wouldn't exist without Timberrgilli. And I know, I know that probably makes you squip because you don't want to, but it is a fact, you know, like it or not. It is it's where you are eleven Yes, I agree with you, but eleven years in, like you know, things don't even a lot of things don't even last.

Eleven good and bad. And so again that's a testament, uh to perseverance and fortitude and dedication and all those great words that probably uh don't even just you know, maybe not even strong enough for for what you're doing. And you know, it's it's you know again, whether you you know what whatever, whatever political affiliate, and this isn't a political thing, right We've all very few families don't have someone that's served in the military to defend our country and our freedoms, and so there's no reason. You know, I think one of the reasons people get behind it is because we can all relate to it, whether it's we served, someone served themselves, or family member, and just the importance of our military to our nation's history, if you will.

And if you're in the hobby, I was gonna say, and if you're into the hobby, you know, you get some really cool items from us too. So yeah, well, well let's you know, that's a good segue's let's let's you know, let me ask you this before we get into some of the athletes that have sort of jumped on board more now than for eleven years. Then, you know, has it got easier harder? Like where would you know? You know I answer that my answer would be, yes, it's gotten easier and it's gotten harder. You know.

Obviously there's certain day to day things, you know, you know how it is. You just you get into a rhythm of doing it, and you know that part's you know, I think the challenge that I've had is being able to offer new stuff and not just the same kind of recycled stuff. You know that, like you know, if I've had a player who's been signing stuff for me for ten years, that you know, I don't just have that athlete stuff, but I have other stuff as well, you know, So so that's kind of that's been some of the challenge. You know, Honestly, probably the hardest part for me is the number of requests for assistance that we get and trying to meet all of the leads with the limited funds that we have.

I mean there's been times where I've I've had to say, now, you know, I can't help, and you know that that's been hard. So you know it's it's you know, so has it gotten easier, yes? Has it gotten harder? Yes, you know a little bit of both. You know. The more that people find out about what Signatures for Soldiers is about, you know, they they want us to you know, come to this show or to come to that show.

And I would love to travel the country and do that, but you know, like you said, I've got a full time job that you have Monday through Friday, you know, eight to four thirty, I'm working, you know, and I can only take off so much from work. So you know, I've got to be thoughtful about what shows I can go to and don't go to, you know, because again, you know, there's the expense in all of it. But you know, as far as kind of reaching more and more athletes, that's become a little because now, you know, it's like anything else. You know, if you came to me and you're like, hey, Tim, I vouch for this guy because of my relationship with you, I'd go, oh, okay, John.

You know, Billy is a good guy because John says he is. You know that. And it's kind of the same thing with the athlete. You know, I've had the athletes who have vouched for us, you know, yeah, signatures for soldiers, legitimate thing.

You know, We've had people that have jumped on board just simply because of that. Yeah, And you've had I mean I don't probably too many even the name of them all, but you as you've built momentum, as this train's gotten rolling to an analogy, I mean, you can take correct me if I'm wrong. I think you're you're getting more athletes involved, and I think some of that probably comes from the athletes seeing some of their athletes that they know kind of getting well, I'm like Hey, what can I do or how do I get al so you get some of that momentum. Would you agree with that? Oh? Absolutely absolutely.

You know, now more than ever, we have more active current athletes in the professional ranks who are on board than we've ever had. And a lot of that has been because, you know, they'll see the athlete doing something or maybe wearing one of our hats or one of our shirts, and hey, what's that about? You know, exam. You know, I think the one example that really just comes to mind, we've talked about this guy before, Mitch Hanninger, who played for the Mariner not this past season, but the season before. You know, he he had said to me, He's like, oh, you know, hey, I have a box.

You know, it was like every at the end of every off season or every season, he would send us a box of his game used cleats that we sell and go to help homeless and disabled veteran you know, he told me, he's like, yeah, He's like, you know, I've got a box in my locker that I'm putting some cleats in. And he's like, I'll get it out to you. And so he sends it to me and I open it up. And not only are there cleats from him, but there's cleats from several of his several of his his teammates at the time, And I asked him about and he said, yeah, he said, you know, guys saw the box in my locker, walking by, asked me what that was about, told him what I was doing, and next day they coming by and dropping their own cleats and there, so you know, so you definitely so again, you know, that's I think that's a great example of you know, somebody vouching for signatures for sould and just seeing that snowball.

So it's it's been, it's been really amazing. You know, I use the word humbling a lot because it is. It's humbling. You know, I'm just the guy.

I'm not really that special, but here people that are just getting behind this. It's awesome. It's I become speechless. When yeah, and we all, you know, we all just people, right, but you chose to take this on and not only did do it right, but to do it in the fash you're doing it, and you know, we've we've seen some hobby entities get behind it, whether it's a podcast, the national like you said, allowing you set up.

I know you were the official charity of the Nashville more than once, I think two or three times, and i'd like to see. It's easy for me to say to you, I say it right, I'd like to see I think there's more like there's more meat on that bone, hobby wise, right, just like a lot of athletes are getting involved, and like in Mitch Haniker's in case you like, even as teammates say hey, let me add to your your box that you're going to send. Right, we'll do it for part one of our conversation with Tim Virgilio. Signatures or soldiers.

We'll obviously be back next Friday with part two. But check signatures if you don't know about them, or you don't know a lot about them, check signatures for soldiers out. I'll have that stuff in the show notes, the links, and and doing great things for people who you know, did a lot for this country and need our help now. And I think it's very important.

It's something I feel very strongly about, and Tim is you know again, one hundred percent of all proceeds go to the charity. Tim does not take any pay or salary. He does it out of the kindness of his heart. We'll talk more about that too on part two next Friday.

So we're gonna hear from our Hobby is the People Announcer and then wrap up this week's episode. Time for our Hobby is the People Announcer of the Week. This is Mike, This Baseball card Life, and remember the Hobby is the People. If you'd like to be the Hobby is the People Announcer of the Week, to have one or MP three file and send it to Sports cod Nation DC at gmail dot com.