Two years in, Kerrville Ghostbusters have 501(c)(3) status and a plan to haunt your porch

Chad Portie’s mother took him to Universal Studios as a kid. He stood in front of the Ghostbusters stage show — the proton beams, the Slimer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man — and could not believe any of it was real.

Decades later, his own children wanted to be Ghostbusters for Halloween. He got everyone flight suits. Then he discovered that more than 200 Ghostbusters fan chapters operate around the world, most of them doing charity work.

“I said, ‘Let’s do this,'” Portie recalled Friday on Lead Live. “I mean, I’m a nerd that likes to have fun and help the community. Why not?”

The Kerrville Ghostbusters, founded in 2024, received official 501(c)(3) nonprofit recognition in 2026. Portie appeared Friday alongside Isabella Parkinson, a Schreiner University sophomore who described her membership as a combination of the two things she loves most: Ghostbusters and volunteer work.

“The dream childhood me would have had,” Parkinson said.

The organization uses Ghostbusters-themed events — slime labs, Create-a-Puffs marshmallow figures, proton pack demonstrations at community events — to raise funds for local children’s programs. Their primary partnership is with the Doyle Community Center, which they support through an annual Back-to-School Drive and a Holiday Toy Drive that funds a Christmas party for neighborhood youth.

After the July flood, the Ghostbusters pivoted quickly. Portie drove past Bandera to secure veterinary medicine for horses affected by the disaster. Parkinson and other members from Schreiner helped establish emergency shelters. The San Antonio Ghostbusters chapter donated half of their back-to-school supply inventory so the Kerrville group could distribute items directly to flood-affected families at the Doyle Center.

The group’s relationship with Sony — the parent company of the Ghost Corps franchise — occupies a gray area that Portie addressed directly. Sony does not officially endorse local chapters, but actively supports them so long as they are doing community good. “As long as your group is doing good for the community and shining a light on goodness, they’re going to leave you alone,” Portie said. The Kerrville chapter earned its “Give Back” patch last year by raising more than $1,000 for local children’s initiatives.

This October, the Ghostbusters launch their inaugural Haunt Porch fundraiser. Ghost statues will appear on residents’ porches. Donors can pay to have the ghost moved to a neighbor’s yard — or risk having it return.

The group has five active members and is looking for more. All applicants must pass a background check. After clearing the check, new members receive a flight suit, name patch, and no-ghost patch. Two events in, they are officially patched in.

To learn more or join: facebook.com/KerrvilleGhostbusters, info@kvgb.org, or president@kvgb.org.