Jen Ellis — the LGBTQ mom from the Burlington, Vermont area who crafted the infamous mittens sported by Senator Bernie Sanders at President Biden and Vice-President Harris’s inauguration last month — recently donated a similar pair to Outright Vermont.
And those mittens brought in some big bucks for the Burlington-based LGBTQ+ youth nonprofit.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to harness the energy of the Bernie meme-mayhem to spread much needed warmth to LGBTQ+ youth in Vermont and beyond, because the truth is, the kids aren’t always alright,” says Outright VT’s website, which reports:
When the auction closed at 5:00 pm Friday Jan 29, John Canning was the top bidder for the Bernie-style mittens at $7,650 (!). John is a long-time supporter of Outright, who wasn’t about to let the momentum stop. He immediately reached out to donate the mittens back to Outright. We immediately sold them to the second-place bidder, raising a total of $14,850 from the mittens alone!
Then he offered a new challenge: if Outright can raise an additional $10,000 for LGBTQ+ youth by Friday Feb 5, his business, Physician’s Computer Company, will match those gifts dollar for dollar!
You can make a donation at www.getberniesmittens.com.
Proceeds go to help fund Camp Outright, “an antidote to the isolation LGBTQ+ youth face year-round,” describes Outright VT of their camp (now virtual camp program). “It’s a place where youth learn, grow, and thrive with peers and adults who understand them. It’s the one week they can let down their defenses, set aside their worries, and just be kids!”
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