Name: A Group of Friends Tie-Dyeing Tees Have Raised More Than $90,000 for Biden
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A Group of Friends Tie-Dyeing Tees Have Raised More Than $90,000 for Biden

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Like many who were stuck at home during the early months of the pandemic, Emily Simoness and Michael Chernus started tie-dyeing to pass the time in quarantine. After perfecting their craft and realizing the happiness that it brought them, they decided to throw a socially distanced tie-dyeing party on their lawn with their local friends and neighbors. But Simoness, the cofounder and executive director of the non-profit SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Chernus, an actor, quickly realized that they’d overbought supplies; in the end, there was a ton of rubber bands, Ziploc bags, and dye leftover from the get-together. They began to brainstorm ways to use up more of the supplies and one of their friends shouted out, “Tie-dyeing for Biden!” The next day, Simoness called up their closest friends in the area to come over and start creating Democratic campaign merchandise.&nbsp; became the official name of the initiative. The group tie-dyes tees supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s bid for office, drops photos of them on a dedicated Instagram account, and asks those interested in purchasing to donate a minimum of $25 to the Biden-Harris campaign or one of a few select Democratic Senate campaigns that TieDyen4Biden highlights each week. Those who donate are then asked to take a screenshot of their receipt and fill out the form link in the account’s bio, which goes live whenever the group announces the windows of new shirt order availability. The response has been incredible: According to Chernus, TieDyen4Biden recently dropped 200 shirts online and sold out within two and a half minutes. The organization has also received supply donations from Jacquard Products, a California-based dye and paint company.&nbsp;Outside of Chernus and Simoness, the founding team members who are still helping to dye the shirts for each limited drop include Allyson Davis, Kate Eminger, Ben Ferguson, Sam Grant, Mark Kane, Hannah Myers, and Dylan Pickus. But since the first several releases of T-shirts, the group has also enlisted outposts of tie-dyers across the country, mostly female-led groups in places like New Mexico, California, Vermont, and Colorado. “It is a completely communal effort.” Chernus said. “We are a collective of left-leaning patriots who want to save the soul of our nation one tie-dye at a time.” And while their bottom line is to raise funds for and support the Biden-Harris campaign and defeat of Donald Trump, Simoness says that it was also about inspiring joy and hope in voters. “Tie-dye probably can’t save the country, but there is an inherent buoyancy and whimsy to the activity itself and to the finished tie-dye shirts.” She adds, “We felt that Biden and the Dems needed a little pep in their step.”&nbsp;Thus far, TieDyen4Biden has raised around $93,790 for the Biden-Harris campaign, with most of the donations ranging around that $25-minimum mark. “If that isn’t an indication of hope, I’m not sure what is,” Simoness says. Chernus echoes her sentiment: “People want to put their energy to good use. They want to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, and make something that brings joy to this election and this moment,” he said. “All of a sudden it’s like, ‘Wait, I can help move this needle myself!’ and that is an awesome feeling. As Emily says, ‘the revolution will be tie-dyed.’”&nbsp;Most PopularThe insider’s guide to what to shop and how to wear it.

Like many who were stuck at home during the early months of the pandemic, Emily Simoness and Michael Chernus started tie-dyeing to pass the time in quarantine. After perfecting their craft and realizing the happiness that it brought them, they decided to throw a socially distanced tie-dyeing party on their lawn with their local friends and neighbors. But Simoness, the cofounder and executive director of the non-profit SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Chernus, an actor, quickly realized that they’d overbought supplies; in the end, there was a ton of rubber bands, Ziploc bags, and dye leftover from...

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Brooke Bobb

Condé Nast is a global media company that produces some of the world’s leading print, digital, video and social brands. These include Vogue, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Wired and Architectural Digest (AD), Condé Nast Traveler and La Cucina Italiana, among others.

A Group of Friends Tie-Dyeing Tees Have Raised More Than $90,000 for Biden

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