Jelly Roll and Theo Von is a combo that I never knew I needed.
While Theo Von typically cracks jokes with his guests, on his most recent episode of This Past Weekend, Theo Von gets vulnerable with Jelly Roll. While the whole podcast episode dropped this morning, late last night, Theo Von shared a tender clip with Mr. Roll, giving him a birthday shoutout.
While Jelly Roll often touches many, and his kind heart drives him to give back, Jelly Roll has captured the hearts of more than just the country music collective. In the clip Von shared, Jelly Roll gets so emotional, even bringing Theo Von to tears, talking about what inspired him to start the toy drive he is hosting throughout Middle Tennessee.
“No one makes me feel as much as this man does. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Happy Birthday, Jelly Roll! We are grateful you exist. Toy Drive info is on his website jellyroll615.com.”
The clip is so moving.
Jelly Roll says that he will put up a couple hundred grand in donations and that over one hundred thousand toys will be donated by the end of it. But then he shares something about the drive that the public was not aware of yet. His daughter was the one behind wanting to do the drive.
“My daughter wanted to do this…she was doing this at nine years old. This was her thought.
And I look back at it, and when I got out of jail….”
Jelly Roll starts to choke up.
“I came home in December of 2009, and I didn’t have any money for toys. And the halfway house, the Men of Valor, did a toy drive for the guys that just came home. And I remember dropping off a truck of toys that I couldn’t afford for her Christmas. I didn’t even get to meet her at that time. By court, I wasn’t even allowed to see her. I had just got home.
So, her heart to want to do a toy drive and then for me to be in a position to amplify it…it’s really cool.”
I mean, wow.
I think I speak for the collective when I say that the toy drive was such a great idea and had such an enormous impact since it kicked off earlier this holiday season, but to hear the messaging behind it makes you understand why Jelly Roll wants this to be the biggest toy drive in Nashville history.
He is well on his way with the success of it thus far.
After he shares the sweet story of how his daughter has inspired him to make this drive massive, Jelly Roll wipes his tears and apologizes for getting emotional. He notes how it has been a crazy couple of weeks. He did have a huge CMA Awards night, got nominated for a Grammy, and is in the thick of hosting one of the most charitable events.
Theo Von, of course, couldn’t help himself to make a joke about how “unique” Jelly Roll is.
“Yeah, you’re the only guy I know who’s been nominated for a Gram and a Grammy.”
Classic Theo Von.
Check out the full podcast episode with Jelly Roll and Ernest below.
