Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders arrives for the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol for President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
By Lisa Rathke
About those wooly mittens that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wore to the presidential inauguration, sparking endless quirky memes across social media? They've helped to raise $1.8 million in the last five days for charitable organizations in Sanders' home state of Vermont, the independent senator announced Wednesday.
The sum comes from the sale of merchandise with the Jan. 20 image of him sitting with his arms and legs crossed, clad in his brown parka and recycled wool mittens.
Sanders put the first of the so-called "Chairman Sanders” merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers, on his campaign website Thursday night and the first run sold out in less than 30 minutes, he said. More merchandise was added over the weekend and sold out by Monday morning, he said.
“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.”
Sanders’ mittens were made by Jen Ellis, a Vermont elementary school teacher who has a side business making mittens out of recycled wool. His inauguration look, also featuring the winter jacket made by Burton Snowboards, sparked countless memes from the photo taken by Agence France-Presse: The former presidential candidate could be found on social media timelines taking a seat on the subway, the moon and the couch with the cast of “Friends," among other creative locales.
Ellis said on social media over the weekend that Sanders called to tell her that “the mitten frenzy" had raised an enormous amount of money for Vermont charities although she was not authorized to disclose the amount, yet.
“But it’s BIG and it’s amazing! Thank you!! Generosity brings joy," she tweeted.
She also said she made three more pairs of mittens and donated them for fundraising to Passion 4 Paws Vermont, Outright Vermont, and would be auctioning off a pair on eBay for her daughter’s college fund.
The groups that will benefit from the proceeds of the “Chairman Sanders” items include Area Agencies on Aging to fund Meals on Wheels throughout Vermont, Vermont community action agencies, Feeding Chittenden, Chill Foundation, senior centers in Vermont and Bi-State Primary Care for dental care improvements in the state, Sanders' office said.
Sanders' attire has also sparked other charitable endeavors. A crocheted doll of Sanders in his garb was auctioned off online and Burton Snowboards donated 50 jackets to the Burlington Department for Children and Families in Sanders' name, his office said.
Getty Images confirmed that it will donate its proceeds as part of the licensing agreement to put the photo on the merchandise to Meals on Wheels of America.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Fast-casual restaurant chain Sweetgreen is rolling out its first salad subscription service called sweetpass as it looks to customers tackling new year weight loss and health goals. Members will receive up to 30 percent off of purchases.
Washington DC and the surrounding areas saw a record breaking snow storm Monday as a strong storm system works its way across the eastern U.S. The extreme weather event caused extensive damage in the greater Washington area, leaving thousands in the region without power. Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist, AccuWeather, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the fierce storm.
Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights on Monday over severe weather and crew shortages. The cancellations come on one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season, and is a continuation of the industry-wide disruption that started before Christmas. Thomas Pallini, Aviation Reporter for Insider joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss.
Millions of Americans with young children have relied on the child tax credit since the federal government began issuing checks in July 2021. The last round of payments was sent out just before the Christmas holiday — at the same time as the omicron variant surged. Leah Hamilton, associate professor of social work at Appalachian State University, joined Cheddar to discuss what the end to the tax credit means as the U.S. sees the end of many relief programs and its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic. "It'll become harder for families to meet their basic needs, increasing national childhood poverty rates and the proportion of families who have difficulty putting food on the table, maintaining stable housing, and paying their bills," Hamilton said. She also pointed to research that the credit as a long-term investment in children offsets claims that it contributes to macroeconomic impacts like inflation.
Several Silicon Valley insiders are being accused of contorting a 1990s-era tax break to avoid taxes on millions of dollars of investment profits. The tax break is known as the qualified small business stock exemption, and it allows early investors in certain companies to avoid half of the taxes on up to $10 million in capital gains. A piece recently published in the New York Times says venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz replicated the tax exemption by giving shares of companies to friends and family, who would otherwise face a 23.8% capital gains bill. The CEO of Roblox is also accused of replicating the tax break for his family members at least 12 times. Although the loophole known as 'stacking' is considered to be legal, the Times piece implies that the exemption has been manipulated for the ultra-wealthy to become more wealthy. Greycroft co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Alan Patricof joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
There is a new player in the mobile app stock trading space.
Zingeroo recently announced a funding round of $8.5 million. The company says it aims to bring 'friendly competition' to stock trading, by literally breaking trading down into daily and weekly competitions between friends. Zingeroo also says it hopes its new approach can make trading more accessible, educational, and social than ever before. Zingeroo co-founder and CEO Zoe Barry joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more.
