GOON Brothers preparing for Mum Festival Parade

City hosts ribbon-cutting ceremony for new McDonald’s location

The GOON Brothers are busy preparing for the annual Mum Festival Parade on Saturday, Sept. 28, while also wrapping up a summer of popular giveaways and fundraising events.

“We’re walking in the Mum Festival Parade again,” Goon Brothers co-founder Luke Zerkle said. “That’s the next big thing for us.”

“Our goal is to make it fun and exciting,” he said.

Although the full details have not been revealed, the GOON Brothers plan to distribute prize envelopes typically used in their scavenger hunts to spectators on the parade route.

“We’ll be passing those out along the parade route, and people can win,” Zerkle said. “In some cases, they’ll receive little cash prizes. In other cases, it might be a gift card to a local store or other small prizes.”

Approximately 200 envelopes will be distributed during the parade, Zerkle said.

“It should be another good year,” he said. “There should be a lot of people who win some things, and receive some fun prizes.”

The GOON Brothers have participated in the Mum Festival Parade each year since the organization was formed, Zerkle said.

“I think our first one would have been in 2016,” he said. “This year we have a little bit of a twist involved, where inside the envelopes there’s going to be a special little message that might allow people the opportunity to win another larger prize.”

“We’re not giving away all of the details, because we want it to be a special surprise,” he said. “They’re going to have to do a little task, and then they’ll be entered to win another larger prize.”

In addition to preparing for the Mum Festival Parade, the GOON Brothers are also wrapping up a busy summer of activities, including a recent dine-to-donate event held at Longshots in Troy on Wednesday, Sept. 5, and a $5,000 giveaway held in June.

“We did a $5,000 cash and prize giveaway at the beginning of June,” Zerkle said. “The majority of people were from the Dayton area, but we actually had a handful of people participate from out-of-state; we’ve received some photos from people in Maryland and Georgia.”

“A young man by the name of Kannon Barnett was our winner, he was from Tipp City,” he said. “He and his family competed. It was kind of cool, because when we delivered the prize the whole family was in the front yard; they were all excited that they won.”

In July, the GOON Brothers partnered with Zach Jacobs State Farm and Topsy-Turvy Toys to collect items for Ronald McDonald House charities in the Dayton area, and the organization is currently hosting a drive to collect soap, body wash and deodorant for Partners of Hope in Troy through the end of September.

“We’re basically collecting soap, body wash and deodorant for men and women who go to Partners in Hope for support,” Zerkle said. “The items can be dropped-off at Zach Jacobs State Farm throughout the month of September.”

Originally formed by Zerkle and co-founder David Moore in 2015, the GOON Brothers is a 501(c)3 organization that works to inspire unity and generosity within communities throughout the world. The organization hosts giveaways, scavenger hunts and other activities throughout the year.

“We know that world peace is kind of a big idea,” Zerkle said. “What we do is we create social media scavenger hunts and giveaways. We try to inspire generosity and show people the power of giving; then we invite them to giveback themselves through our giveback opportunities.”

“We’re basically a cycle of giving,” he said. “The hope is that we can duplicate that throughout other communities.”

The GOON Brothers hosted their first scavenger hunt in December of 2015, Zerkle said.

“What we realized was we live in a very generous community that is able to meet a lot of various needs,” he said.

“It was meant as a fun, goofy idea, and it has turned into something a little bit bigger than we first dreamed of and imagined,” Zerkle said. “That’s been pretty cool. It’s pretty wild to think it’s going to be ten years coming up here.”

Despite the organization’s name, Zerkle and co-founder David Moore aren’t actually brothers.

“We’re not actually brothers,” Zerkle said, “We do look alike, but we’ve just been best friends since we were little.”

More information on the GOON Brothers can be found online through Facebook or at www.thegoonbrothers.org.

“All the things we do wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the people who have come alongside us, and partnered with us and helped us to make it possible,” Zerkle said. “I just want to continue to say thank you to the community, and the individuals and organizations who have supported us and partnered with us.”