Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

A crocheted Bernie doll, complete with mittens, racked up $40,000 for charity

A crocheted version of Senator Bernie Sanders’ now-famous mittens-and-mask pose on Inauguration Day sold for more than $20,000 after only two days of bidding on ebay.

The doll was initially posted by its creator, Tobey King, with a starting bid of 99 cents, but 167 bids later it skyrocketed to $20,300.

King, who owns Washington-based Tobey Time Crochet, promised to donate 100% of the proceeds to Meals on Wheels, a charity that delivers food to those in need. Senator Sanders’ own office had also donated proceeds from a sweatshirt sale with a similar design.

Sensing the popularity of the doll, eBay has pledged to match the proceeds, raising the total amount to $40,600

“Amid the pandemic, the demand for Meals on Wheels has skyrocketed as more vulnerable older adults find themselves homebound and in need of this vital lifeline,” Spokesperson Jenny Young said in a statement. “The awareness for our cause is needed now more than ever, and on behalf of the entire nationwide network, we greatly appreciate the support.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.