After Bernie Sanders and his adorable mittens became a meme last month, one woman from Texas decided to recreate the image as a doll. Of course, she had no idea it would soon sell for a little more than $20,000! That’s right. Now, she’s taking this good story one step further by donating all the cash to charity! Read on to discover the feel-good money story you need this week…
Crocheting The Bernie Sanders Doll
When the pictures of Bernie Sanders in quite the pair of old man mittens, they instantly became a national success. Plenty of people online started adding the image to other photos and even videos. Now Bernie and his mittens have been in everything from The Shining and the original “Gangnam Style” music video to the Yalta conference in 1945. Meanwhile, in Texas, all these images and video inspired a young woman from Texas, Tobey King.
After seeing everyone having fun online, King decided to get in on the trend herself. So she took the hysterical meme and captured it in a fashion all her own: a crocheted doll! Using her impressive skills, the young woman worked hard to nail the exact style, expression, and pose that Sanders took. In total, it took King around seven hours to create the doll, including the famous mittens. “The mittens are not that hard it’s just some color changing, a special stitch,” she said. Afterward, King posted a picture online, having no idea it would soon take off. However, just a few hours later, and the photo had gone viral! The image earned thousands of likes and nearly as many reshares. Plus, King found herself initiated requests to sell the doll or make more of them.
Soon enough, another fantastic idea started brewing in King’s mind. One that would help the entire world!
From Auction To Donation
A few days later, King announced to the world that she had put the doll up for auction. However, even then, the young woman had no idea how big the auction would become. By the end, the final bid came in at a whopping $20,300. That’s right! “It’s mind-blowing because I knew Bernie was trending because of that picture, and I already had a Bernie pattern and a Bernie doll. So I just went and got that, and I modified that super quick,” King recalled later on.
Inspired by Sanders himself, King decided to donate all of the proceeds to the fantastic charity Meals on Wheels America. It’s a non-profit that feeds people in need amid the pandemic. “This could be my purpose; this is my new path,” King said. “This is a new way of helping people in a way that I’ve never been able to do before…I really hope that he thinks this is something cool and that I’m doing something good.”
If you would like to help Meals on Wheels America, an organization that helps bring meals to those who cannot afford them, visit their website. And be sure to keep an eye on young Tobey King. Who knows what she’ll do next!
Sources: MSN, The Guardian