![]() “Because of a random gift and act of kindness that I did years ago and forgot about, something else totally random happens,” Ellis said. ![]() She said she hopes others take away and remember more from this than just the meme and the mittens. You know, I didn't get rich quick off this, but what I have got back has been so much longer lasting and more profoundly contributed to who I am, and I feel like Vermont will benefit from this.” Jen Ellis is partnering with Darn Tough Vermont to make socks inspired by Sanders' mittens, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Vermont Foodbank. “When we give them away in what capacity we can, what we get back is astounding. “We don't all have material things to give away, but we all have so many other gifts,” Ellis said. Though she didn’t come out until 19, she said she was aware of Portland Outright, a nonprofit near where she grew up in Maine that has a similar mission. She said a neighbor suggested Passion 4 Paws, and she chose Outright Vermont, because she wanted to support LGBTQ youth. Because Jen Ellis doesn't make mittens anymore, she decided to make three more pairs specifically to auction off for charity. Ellis is auctioning off the third pair on eBay, and the proceeds will go toward her daughter’s college fund. She donated one pair to Outright Vermont, an LGBTQ youth organization, and another to Passion 4 Paws, a dog rescue in Vermont. She tweeted on Inauguration Day that she was “so flattered that Bernie wore them to the inauguration,” but she didn’t have any more mittens for sale.Īfter a few days, she decided to make three more pairs, two of which she’s donated to charities. “It helps me clear my head.”īut she doesn’t make mittens to sell anymore, so when thousands of people reached out after the inauguration, she said she “really struggled” because she wanted to make mittens for everyone. “There have been times when I've just been really down in the dumps, and I'll go into my craft room, and I'll do some sewing, or watch some trashy TV,” she said. Then, in February, she tweeted that she had a few extra pairs for sale and shared her email address. She shared on Twitter at the time that she had made the mittens from repurposed wool sweaters and recycled plastic bottles. The mittens first started to make headlines early last year when Sanders wore them on the presidential campaign trail, Ellis said. “I put a little note in that just said something like, ‘I really support you, and I like you, and I hope you run again.’” “I was making mittens for all of the preschool teachers for holiday gifts, and I made an extra pair for Bernie,” Ellis, who teaches second grade, told NBC News. She asked Sanders’ daughter-in-law, who owns the preschool Ellis’ daughter attended at the time, to deliver them to the senator. Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images fileĮllis made the mittens for Sanders in 2016, after he lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sits in the bleachers at the Capitol before the inauguration. Sanders told CNN he was happy the photo went viral, because it “ makes people aware that we make good mittens in Vermont.
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