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Bubba’s Fund: Turning Grief into Good

By Tallitha Reese | Winter 2025-26

The story starts out in a familiar way: Boy meets girl. They get married. They start a family.

Moran Lonning (left) & Alex Weber with Charlie after his birth. / Photo courtesy Bubba’s Fund

Alex Weber and Moran Lonning met in 2014 as students at Luther College. They married in 2023, and not long after, moved to La Crosse, where Moran was hired as head coach of the women’s basketball team for the University of Wisconsin La Crosse (UWL) and Alex would work as a pharmacist at Mayo Clinic Health System. And in June of 2024, the couple excitedly welcomed their son, Charlie Lonning Weber, into the world.

“We were just in love with him,” says Moran. “One of the most special things that we’ve experienced in our lives was bringing Charlie home and becoming a family together. Those moments the first few weeks of Charlie’s life were just completely magical.”

But when Charlie was just three months old, the story of this new family took a devastating turn. September 16, 2024, Charlie unexpectedly passed away while at daycare. His death was considered a Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) after autopsy and genetic testing could not determine a cause of death.

When tragedy happens, those left in the aftermath have choices on how to move forward. After months of grappling with grief, Alex and Moran chose to turn their grief into a legacy that would honor Charlie, who was affectionately known as Bubba. They created Bubba’s Fund, a donor advised fund committed to improving the lives of children, working under the umbrella of the La Crosse Area Community Foundation. 

Creating the Legacy

Charlie unexpectedly passed away when he was just three months old. / Photo courtesy Bubba’s Fund

Charlie passed away two weeks before the start of the 2024-2025 basketball season, Moran’s second year coaching for UWL. The basketball community rallied around her and Alex with an outpouring of support. 

“Our community of loved ones stretches across the country, and they all have been so important and continue to walk with us through this journey,” explains Moran. “But the La Crosse community, specifically UWL and La Crosse area women’s basketball community, completely enveloped us with love and lifted us up with support. My players sat with me, cried with me, talked about Charlie with me, found signs from heaven for me everywhere we went. They let me show up just as I was every day and met me where I was.”

Moran and Alex also found a great deal of support and comfort from their church community, as well as support from an unexpected source: Wisconsin State Senator Brad Pfaff. Senator Pfaff attended Charlie’s funeral unannounced to express his personal condolences to Moran and Alex and said to let him know if there was anything he could do.

“When tragedies strike, it is truly amazing to see and feel the love and power that overflows,” says Alex. “We are so grateful for the comfort and compassion that continues to help us every single day as we continue to miss Charlie.”

In November of 2024, the UWL women’s basketball team hosted the first Bubba’s Youth Night in honor of Charlie. Before the game, Alex and Moran spoke to the audience, honoring their son and recognizing the support of the community. It was announced that Charlie would be the team’s Forever Sixth Man (a term describing a member of the team who, though not a starter, is essential to the team’s success). Through free will donations, approximately $1,800 was raised for Rising Athletes Organization, a non-profit that provides support and assistance to youth athletes in the La Crosse region. 

The UWL women’s basketball team hosted the first Bubba’s Youth Night in honor of Charlie in November of 2024. They brought in $1,800 for Rising Athletes Organization. / Photos courtesy Bubba’s Fund

That whole season was one defined by resilience, community, and heart. The team earned a spot in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament but were eliminated in the opening round. Then, they received the final at-large bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III tournament – UWL’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2020. They won the first round, bringing home their first NCAA tournament win in 37 years, before falling in a close game to UW-Whitewater. 

After the basketball season ended, Moran and Alex began to explore how they wanted to continue memorializing their son’s life. 

Alex and Moran will always live with the grief of Charlie’s passing, but creating Bubba’s Fund helps channel that grief into something good. / Photo courtesy Bubba’s Fund

“We knew we wanted to honor Charlie’s life very soon after his passing,” says Moran. “But during the pain and shock of his loss, we weren’t quite sure what that would look like.” 

In the spring of 2025, Tony Ayala, a family friend of Alex and Moran, and Moran’s brother, Connor Lonning, suggested they start with a fundraising event inspired by Bubba’s Youth Night with the UWL women’s basketball team. “The warmth and energy from that night became the spark that ultimately led to the creation of Bubba’s Fund,” explains Tony. 

In alignment with the mission to empower the lives of children in the La Crosse area, they decided to start the fund through the La Crosse Area Community Foundation, a well-established resource that already supports local organizations. And after some research, they realized that though each state-licensed childcare center in Wisconsin is required to have providers certified in CPR and usage of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), there is no law mandating that AEDs be present in the facilities. While Alex and Moran will never know if an AED could have saved Charlie, knowing that childcare facilities would have the equipment on-hand felt like an important step in preparedness. The connection clicked.

“We saw a gap there and knew we could do something about it,” says Tony. “We wanted to offer that equipment to all state-licensed childcare facilities in the city of La Crosse.”

Bubba’s Fund partnered with 7 Rivers Cardiac Arrest Preparedness and Education (CAPE) to work towards that goal. 

“We can’t do everything, but we can do a little,” says Tony. “And with the help of already established organizations, like the 7 Rivers CAPE, we can do even more together.”  

The group began planning the First Annual Benefit for Bubba’s Fund for August 27, 2025, with the goal of raising $20,000 through a pledge system. They also launched a petition to have August 27 proclaimed as “‘For Charlie. For Children.’ Day” in the city of La Crosse. Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey officially announced the proclamation on August 25, two days before the inaugural Benefit for Bubba’s Fund.

The first Benefit for Bubba’s Fund was held on August 27, 2025, at the Rivoli Theatre in La Crosse, Wisconsin. / Photo courtesy Bubba’s Fund

The benefit, held at the Rivoli Theatre in La Crosse, featured storytelling, tributes, and live music by The Weber Brothers, a band comprised of Alex Weber and his brothers. As they often do, they performed many covers of the Avett Brothers – a group whose music is deeply important to Alex and Moran.

The evening also featured a video of Senator Pfaff, announcing a proposed bill – titled Bubba’s Law – that would provide a way for state-licensed childcare facilities to acquire AEDs without an overwhelming financial burden. He began drafting the bill upon learning of the fundraising efforts of Bubba’s Fund. Bubba’s Law would make partial funding grants available for AED equipment and maintenance.

Top: Alex Weber sings (with brothers) in the Weber Brothers Band at the inaugural Benefit for Bubba’s Fund in August of 2025. Bottom: The night was filled with music, memories of Charlie, and heartfelt appreciation for the support of Bubba’s Fund. / Photos courtesy Bubba’s Fund

At the benefit, they ended up far surpassing their initial $20,000 fundraising goal, bringing in $62,405 – the majority of which came from contributions of individuals and families. It was a true show of community. And that feeling of community didn’t end that night. 

In what seemed like fate to Alex and Moran, the Avett Brothers were performing in La Crosse on August 28 – the day after the benefit for Bubba’s Fund. The group reached out to the band ahead of time to extend an invitation to the fundraiser, but they weren’t scheduled to arrive in La Crosse until the day of their concert. However, Alex, Moran, and around 30 friends and family members from Bubba’s Fund attended the concert together. Alex and Moran delivered handwritten notes and Bubba’s Fund t-shirts to the band after the performance, receiving a signed setlist from the band in return. Later the band’s cellist, Joe Kwon, posted an Instagram story stating: “I played for you tonight, Charlie. Rest in Power.” The quiet recognition meant a great deal to Alex, Moran, and the entire Bubba’s Fund team. 

The Spirit of Bubba’s Fund

The next Bubba’s Fund event is Bubba’s Youth Night with the UWL women’s basketball team on January 10, 2026. This year the group hopes to add a kids’ festival starting at noon until the game tip off at 3 pm. 

After the success of their first initiative to bring more AED access to local childcare centers, they now plan to partner with Rising Athletes Organization to help fundraise for youth from low-income backgrounds to secure access to sports. 

“Participating in youth athletics has been a pivotal part of both of our lives,” says Alex. “Rising Athletes is an amazing local organization that reduces the financial barrier for children who are unable to participate in sports.” 

“Kids learn invaluable lessons of adversity and grit through participating in sports programs that we feel is difficult to replicate otherwise,” adds Moran. “Besides the life-changing lessons learned, the joy of playing sports is something we feel all kids should have the opportunity to have – and Rising Athletes aims to ensure kids are not left on the sideline.” 

Though Bubba’s Fund will continue to operate under the La Crosse Area Community Foundation for now, the goal is to eventually achieve their own 501(c)(3) status, hopefully by the end of 2026, says Tony. “And we want to continue working, continue with event planning, and expand events to the broader community as we move forward.”

Alex grew up in Mason City, Iowa, and Moran spent most of her childhood in Decorah. They met at Luther College in Decorah, and moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, shortly after marrying. The La Crosse community has been incredibly supportive of this young family through the tragedy of losing Charlie. / Photo courtesy Bubba’s Fund

Though Charlie’s life was much too short, his legacy has already begun to inspire lasting change in La Crosse and across the state of Wisconsin. By taking action to ensure the safety, opportunity, and well-being of children, Bubba’s Fund has turned grief into good and heartbreak into hope. 

“Grief became part of our life the day we lost Charlie and continues to be and will certainly be a part of our lives forever,” says Moran. “No matter how much good comes from starting Bubba’s Fund, we will always grieve our Charlie. It was difficult to venture into something so public surrounding his life, even though we believed our community would benefit from it. We thought, though, that it was important to honor both Charlie’s life and to pay back this amazing community of La Crosse for how they supported us during this tender time of our lives. That’s what keeps us moving forward. That’s the spirit of Bubba’s Fund.” 

Tallitha Reese


Tallitha Reese is a freelance writer and content manager based in Cashton, WI. She owns Words By Reese and you can find out more about her and her work at www.wordsbyreese.com.

    Learn more about Bubba’s Fund, get involved, or donate at www.bubbasfund.org.

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