Vt. organization brings in big bucks auctioning Bernie’s mittens

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - People are dropping big bucks for a pair of Sen. Bernie Sanders mittens, and a couple of Vermont organizations are benefiting.

Passion 4 Paws, a Shelburne-based nonprofit that fosters rescued dogs, is one of the organizations chosen to auction off a pair of the popular mittens Sanders sported at the inauguration. Outright Vermont also got a pair.

They put the mittens up for auction on eBay on Sunday. The starting bid was $30. Five days later, the mittens sold for $3,800.

Jacki Galenkamp, the organization’s event organizer, said they weren’t expecting the mittens to sell for that much money, but they’re pleased that they did.

“The first thing in the morning, I would always check eBay, and all of a sudden, it would just have this mad jump overnight because we had people who were betting on them from overseas, as well, so it wasn’t just in the United States, so it was quite the craze,” she said. “But yeah, $3,800 was a very nice surprise, and it’ll go a long way.”

Passion 4 Paws says all of the money will go toward vet bills, vaccinations, transportation and training.

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