They’re a force of nature — and a force for good.
On April 24, Matthew McConaughey, 55, legendary college football coach Mack Brown, 73, and singer-songwriter Jack Ingram, 54, gathered hundreds of friends and family — including McConaughey’s kids Levi, 16, Vida, 15, and Livingston, 12 — for their annual MJ&M (Mack, Jack, and McConaughey) fundraising extravaganza in Austin.
Elizabeth Kreutz & Tyler Schmitt
Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey pose with their kids Livingston McConaughey, Vida McConaughey and Levi McConaughey
The 48-hour whirlwind event, which included a gala and auction, charity golf scramble, a Carolina Herrera fashion show, and a “Jack and Friends” concert featuring Ingram playing alongside performers like Miranda Lambert and Ryan Bingham, raised $17 million for children’s organizations like CureDuchenne, Dell Children’s Medical Center, HeartGift, just keep livin Foundation, and The Rise School of Austin.
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“It’s our 13th year, and it just keeps getting bigger and better,” McConaughey tells PEOPLE. His wife Camila, 42, organized the fashion show and luncheon portion of the two days alongside Mack Brown’s wife, Sally Brown, and says the generosity of the donors this year was overwhelming.
“It made me cry,” she says. “Just thinking about how many children’s lives are going to be changed because of how many people want to help. But Texans are also go-getters. They don’t just sit around talking about things that need doing. If there’s a disaster, a chance to help, they’ll jump right up. They’re so passionate about supporting.”
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McConaughey says the annual MJ&M event was initially the brainchild of the ACM-award winning Jack Ingram, who has always been an advocate for giving back in the same way the McConaugheys and the Browns have.
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Matthew McConaughey and Eric Church
“Mack was doing his thing in 20 places a year, Jack was going all over the place, I was going all over the place with fundraising so this idea was that we could have one set, 48 hours, in Austin Texas every year, no one could move the calendar date and we get it all done right there,” McConaughey says.
Elizabeth Kreutz & Tyler Schmitt
Jack Ingram, Jessica Bush, Sally Brown, Mack Brown, Camila Alves McConaughey, Matthew McConaughey pose with some of the children benefitting from the organizations highlighted at MJ&M
Ingram adds that he was inspired by Willie Nelson, an avid fundraiser himself. “I texted these guys and said, ‘Hey, I’m not Willie Nelson, but I think we can do something fun,’ ” he says with a laugh.
Brown, who was the longtime UNC football coach before pivoting to heading up McConaughey’s beloved University of Texas Longhorns between 1998-2013, says, “I’ve been incredibly lucky in life and so has Jack and so has Matthew, so it’s our obligation and our privilege to give back.”
The event kicked off with a gala and auction at the Austin City Limits Live theater. Items like a private bongo session with McConaughey and a trip to the exclusive Naviva Resort in Mexico were on the table, and the event ended with a private performance by Eric Church.
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Matthew McConaughey, Camila Alves McConaughey, Miranda Lambert, Brendan McLoughlin
The following day was the charity golf scramble at the Omni Barton Creek Resort Fazio course, where Mack, Jack and McConaughey would show up on certain holes to pal around with the players.
A few hours later, Camila hosted a private Carolina Herrera fashion show, with presenting partner Neiman Marcus, showcasing Herrera’s 2025 Fall/Winter collection. The fashion house’s head designer Wes Gordon was on hand to talk about the new line while guests were able to shop the Herrera pop-up shop, and during the following luncheon, attendees were treated to a specialty cocktail designed by famous mixologist Rob Floyd.
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Camila McConaughey and daughter Vida at the Caroline Herrera fashion show at the MJ&M weekend fundraiser
“We were honored to feature Carolina Herrera at this year’s Fashion Show,” said Camila. “Gordon’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection captured a breathtaking sense of ephemeral beauty — it was elegant, poetic, and a perfect reflection of timeless femininity. Showcasing this collection at our Mack, Jack & McConaughey Fashion Show, where fashion met purpose, made the moment all the more meaningful.”
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Camila Alves McConaughey and Matthew McConaughey
After the show was done, Camila got candid with PEOPLE about raising her kids with the same values she and Matthew have, noting that they’ve always been a part of the Just Keep Livin Foundation, which provides after-school fitness and mental wellness programs in 45 inner-city sites.
“We started the foundation before Levi was born, so they’ve been seeing what we do their whole lives, and we get them active as much as we can,” she says.
The family Thanksgiving traditions include volunteering with Meals on Wheels, and when they travel with dad for work, they visit local orphanages with necessities for the children. As their kids get older, she says she and Matthew are passionate about empowering the next generation
Adds Camila: “I hope that because they grew up with that hands-on experience of doing community work, they will carry that with them.”
Read the original article on People
