White Boy Rick, Cannabis Industry Donate $50,000 To Michigan Children In Need: 'We're Trying To Help Foster Kids'

Rick Wershe, also known as "White Boy Rick," has raised and donated $50,000 to Love For A Child, an organization that helps foster kids in Michigan. Wershe, who now has his own cannabis line, said most of the money raised and donated to the charity came from people in the cannabis industry. 

What Is Love For A Child? Love For A Child, a non-profit organization, provides resources to kids and their foster families as well as offers mentorship opportunities. The organization has also created an overnight camp that helps foster kids get away from their often difficult daily lives

“Love For A Child has three offices across the state of Michigan,” said Joe Savalle, founder and executive director of Love For A Child, in an interview with Fox. “We serve kids in the foster care system ages six through 12 years old who have been through a lot of different forms of trauma. We do summer camps, mentorship services and other resources.” 

Wershe said that securing funds from various sources in the cannabis sector was relatively easy. Adding that, one of the benefits of the legal cannabis industry is that the business owners tend to be very community-oriented and willing to help out causes such as Love For A Child. Wershe credited MKX Oil Co and Exclusive Cannabis Brands, two Michigan cannabis companies that Wershe has teamed up with for his own line, The 8th.

“We’re trying to help foster kids,” Wershe said. “They take these basically forgotten-about kids and give them a week of paradise, they get to go to a camp and basically just to forget for a week that they don’t really have a family. I want to put as many of these kids as I can through Love For A Child.” 

Legal Drug Cartels: Wershe called out big pharma companies that he describes as “legal drug cartels operating in the United States” for not doing enough to help communities and kids in need, like foster kids in Detroit and other parts of Michigan. The cannabis industry is different, he said, and is more willing to step in and help with charitable causes. 

Wershe pointed out other problems with the foster care system, including the high incarceration rate for children who are raised in the foster system. 

“When a child turns 18, they’re basically kicked out on the streets,” Wershe said. “I look at it like if I can change one of these kids lives, it’s worth it. 

Wershe does a lot of philanthropy in Michigan, including providing a handicap van worth nearly $100,000 for a family that needs it, as well as donating hundreds of Air Force 1 sneakers to kids in need, including every child that was in the Macomb County Youth Home last Christmas. Wershe said he’s able to do these things because of the cannabis industry, and that 90% of the charitable funds he raises come from the industry.

Here is the full list of donors that helped make Wershe’s contribution to Love For A Child possible:

• House Of Dank
• Cloud Cannabis
• Puff Cannabis 
• Wayne Wellness Inc
• Pure Cannabis Outlet
• Homegrown Cannabis
• Leaf + Bud
• URB Cannabis
• Cannation
• Stiiizy (Ryan)
• Jars Michigan 
• Feldman Chevrolet
• Kimberly Russo 
• Brinker Construction
• Jeffrey & Kevin Denha 
• Bulldog Ventures + Investments
• Ron Lipson + Cathy Loriz 
• Michael Hermiz And Family
• Andrew Halsey 
• Coral Reef Productions Inc 
• Harry + Sean Zeer
• James Esshaki 
• Tallulah Wine Bar
• Wintergreen Landscaping Company
• Jeff Satwa Living Trust

Now Read: EXCLUSIVE: How X Is Shaping The Future Of Cannabis

Photo: Benzinga