Those Bernie Sanders ‘Mitten Memes’ Have Raised $1.8 million For Charity

Those now infamous mittens were the talk of the inauguration, but laugh if you will, those mittens and the man who wore them are raising some serious cash for charities.

You couldn’t scroll social media without seeing a Bernie Sanders meme over the past week. There he sat, legs crossed mittens on, and everyone made sure he was part of their “daily lives”. Bernie Sanders and his homemade mittens were definitely the inauguration highlight, and now the Senator is putting those memes to good work. 

Those silly memes have now helped to raise $1.8 million in the last five days for charitable organizations in Sanders’ home state of Vermont. Sanders announced the amount comes from the sale of merchandise with the infamous January 20 image of Sanders sitting with his arms and legs crossed, clad in his brown parka and recycled wool mittens.

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It was the Senator that first launched the so-called “Chairman Sanders” merchandise on his website. Items include T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers from the first run sold out in less than 30 minutes, he told the Associated Press.

“Jane and I were amazed by all the creativity shown by so many people over the last week, and we’re glad we can use my internet fame to help Vermonters in need,” Sanders said in a written statement. “But even this amount of money is no substitute for action by Congress, and I will be doing everything I can in Washington to make sure working people in Vermont and across the country get the relief they need in the middle of the worst crisis we’ve faced since the Great Depression.”

All of the proceeds raised from selling the Bernie meme merchandise will support various Vermont charities, including  Meals on Wheels Vermont, Feeding Chittenden,  Vermont Community Action centers, and other local charities per Sanders request.

You can score your Bernie gear here.