‘Switten’ auction raises $750 for kids nature programs

January 27, 2020  |  By Emily A. Seiffert

North Branch Nature Center Forest Preschoolers enjoy a meme moment with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (Original photo by Wayne Fawbush)

Feb. 11 UPDATE: 

Laura Fried’s Switten auction closed Feb. 5 and after fees, it netted a little more than $750 to cover five summer nature camp scholarships for kids at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier. 

The winning bidder wishes to remain anonymous but Fried said she told her she was eager to support the scholarship fund, particularly this year. Fried shared this statement from the winner: “Especially during this time when the pandemic continues to limit opportunities for children to learn and grow, nature and outdoor activities are critical to developing a sense of well-being and good mental health.”

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MONTPELIER — When the mittens Jen Ellis made for Bernie Sanders suddenly launched her one-time Switten business into the spotlight last week, the Essex Junction teacher made time last weekend to craft three more pairs to raise money for good causes. 

She chose Outright Vermont, Passion 4 Paws, and her own daughter’s college fund. And as the now-infamous image of Vermont’s junior senator bundled at President Joe Biden’s inauguration wearing his Swittens went viral across the internet, Waterbury resident Laura Fried started digging in her closets.  

She recalled that she had a never-worn authentic pair of Jen Ellis Swittens stashed someplace and she had an idea for them. 

“I bought them from Jen Ellis at a Planting Hope craft fair in Montpelier a few years ago, and they ended up in a closet — I never even took the tags off,” said Fried. “I know that people are eager to get their hands on Jen Ellis originals, and also to support great organizations.” 

Laura Fried and her brand-new Swittens to auction to support programs at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier. Courtesy photo.

A longtime friend of the North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier, Fried decided that she could leverage the good the mittens could do beyond warming just one pair of hands. 

She decided to put the mittens on eBay to auction them off as a way to raise money for families who need financial support to enroll their kids in the nature center’s programs like summer camp, after-school programs, and its Forest Preschool.

“I was on a walk in 10-degree weather with cold hands when the thought of auctioning the mittens occurred to me. Being out in nature is getting me through this pandemic.  I want that for everyone,” Fried said.

So now Fried’s pair is posted as well as two of the three pairs Ellis made to auction off herself. “I am so flattered that people want my mittens and I wish I could make them for everyone,” wrote Jen Ellis on the eBay auction site. 

Fried’s pair are similar to the ones Sen. Sanders wears but they are a mixture of blue hues from a Fair Isle-patterned sweater and they have a pale pink accent on thumbs. Ebay bidding on Fried’s pair of Jen Ellis Swittens will close on Friday, Feb. 5. 

Fried said she’s been happy to see how the nonprofit nature center has grown in recent years and adapted in 2020 to continue offering programs throughout the pandemic. Contributing to scholarships will help make those programs accessible to more people in the community, she said. 

Emily Seiffert is Communications & Development Director at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier.