I love this story by Keith Uhlig, and particularly the ending: "I think for a lot of us LGBT people, the message resonates," Mountain said. "Maybe people tell you you can't do something, but you can go ahead and do it anyway.""

They fucking did it. They mushed to Nome.

Ok #UglyDogs this is cool: I just got a personal thank-you email from the Director at Alaska Humanities Forum/Story Works, thanking me for my Igivearod donation & wondering how someone from CT came across them. Turns out she is from New Haven, & has the correct fave apizza (Modern). Small world!

Story Works update #igivearod

I am a Board Member with Alaska Rural Veterinary Outreach (www.Facebook.com/akrvo). We wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to you all! We are excited and humbled by the generous donations that we have received. In the name of all the animals who will receive help because of you - THANK YOU.

The #igivearod2025 totals are in! This drive in honor of Quince Mountain's #Iditarod run brought in a record $138,646, breaking the previous 2019 record of $127,500. This brings the sum total of all #igivearod drives to an amazing $525,720 to support Alaska school projects and organizations.

A social media-driven fundraising group called the Igivearod has raised over $130,000 for local Alaska charities.

We’ve arrived to Nome, The Widow’s Lamp has been extinguished signaling all mushers are safely off the trail, and the spreadsheet is locked! We will work on updating the final tally for you all in the next day or so. Thank you so much for all your support, shares, matches! #igivearod #UglyDogs

And they are here! We have finished the Red Lantern run. Great work, team. Please give us a minute to tally up the matches so we can have an accurate tracker reading. Congrats, team, that was a great run! #UglyDogs #RushToNome

Almost to Nome!

The team is over the last hills, nearing the home strectch to Nome! Only 9 miles to go! #UglyDogs #RushtoNome

The tl:dr on this great thread is that all donations tracked on the official #igivearod spreadsheet have some awesome Wheel Dogs providing matches. AND don't miss the tracker, which shows the #UglyDogs progress, carrying that virtual Red Lantern in to Nome 💚😭

#Uglydogs #Igivearod Art supplies- block printing supplies specifically- only 214$ needed…Imagining the artists we are nurturing with this drive! www.donorschoose.org/project/nort...

Do you remember? Because I do. 2019. Nearing the first Halfway Howl, ever. So many friends came to witness.

Do you remember? Because I do. 2019. 24hrs. The day we love to hate. The day when the #UglyDogs became a team. #UglyDogs

So first, please donate responsibly. You're still a part of the team even if you can't give money. But as Mac has said before, know that we couldn't have gotten all this way without every single person's help. Every repost and every dollar matters, just like every mile matters. #UglyDogs

#uglydogs don't forget whether you can or can't donate at the moment, the "Other Ways to Participate" tab has some excellent ideas for ways to get involved and help! You can knit! Make calls! Walk your dog! Bake cookies! I'm amazed by all of you ♥️

We run sooo fast! We’re almost to Safety! #UglyDogs #igivearod

Look at this little trackyboi moving! It already reached the Blowholes! #UglyDogs #PushToNome

And in case you missed it, @mac-b5.stickimporters.com has planned something special to help us celebrate and honor our friend Quince of BraverMountain Mushing—and all the teams who didn't get to cross under the burled arch this year. #UglyDogs #MusherSky #Igivearod bsky.app/profile/mac-...

In honor of Jenny Roddewig, I've added one more DonorsChoose project to our page from her hometown of Fairbanks. While not a remote school, the majority of Hunter Elementary's students are Alaska Native. #Igivearod #Iditarod53 #UglyDogs #MusherSky www.donorschoose.org/project/shin...

I would LOVE to see each of the orgs we highlighted during this year's #Igivearod surpass $2,025. Here's a thread of the "Red Lantern" orgs that need some help getting there 🧵 #Uglydogs #Igivearod #MusherSky bit.ly/igivearod2025

I can't stand not being part of something that involves matching things, so I'm a third wheel dog (yes, those now exist). Let's get this team to Nome in style!!

If you need help logging donations to causes other than DonorsChoose, reach out and let us know or use the form linked below! DonorsChoose donations made through the page will tally automatically.

#igivearod challenge, with trackybois and a map! Let’s get to Nome! #UglyDogs #MusherSky

I saw you bringing up the tracker by more than $20.000 in my sleep. I double dare you to do this again while I am awake. Let us be a team once more and Push to Nome! For Pepé. For Leap, Mazzy, Yotam, Jelly, Waller, WeeGee, and Kiwi For Opal, Monster, Deshka, Tickle, Bob, Hades, Cream, and Whip

If you cannot donate yourself right now, you know the drill. Look at other ways to give on the #Igivearod spreadsheet and DM me (here or in the Disco) what you have done. I will send $27 to AVRO for each of you. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

That's a staggering amount of money. However, we will not do this alone. There are two powerful wheel dogs right now*, pledging to match donations. So every Dollar you give will bring the tracker 3 Dollars closer to the target. *become a wheel dog now! It's fun! 😬

#Igivearod 2025: The Push to Nome If the BM team was disqualified, it is on the #UglyDogs bring the team to Nome. There are rumors that Jenny Roddewig will scratch in WM. In true #UglyDogs fashion, let us do the Red Lantern Run ourselves. This is your map.

Y'all, I am going to do something that everybody tells me is a bad idea. I prepared a set of beautiful maps to go along with the BM team from Tripod Flats Cabin onward. That obviously did not happen. And so, all the stress and blerality (Yes, this is a word!) did not happen, too. #UglyDogs

Our #Iditarod53 Red Lantern, Jenny Roddewig, will soon depart White Mountain for the final run through Safety to Nome. What will we do with our final ~12 hours of #Igivearod...? Our DonorsChoose page: donorschoose.org/igivearod25 For everything else: bit.ly/igivearod2025 #MusherSky #UglyDogs

I haven't been on for over 24hrs, came back and found this. Beautiful, Beautiful People. Look what we did. #uglydogs

Y'all better look at this. #Uglydogs

This is unbelievable!!! 😭😭😭😭😭

I've never woken up to a better thing happening. Y'all started literally 10min after I went to sleep and crossed the 100k in 2 hrs! Lumi just came over to look if everything is alright with me. Might have screamed for a bit. You all are wonderful people. Every single one of you. #UglyDogs

There's maybe 1.5 days left for #igivearod and already it's been one hell of a year! Over $60k raised for Alaskan schools, $11k for LGBTQIA+ orgs, $10k each for social services & animal-related orgs - almost $109k total so far. It's not too late to chip in! #uglydogs docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

And it's official! Over $100,000 raised so far and the red lantern is still a ways away.

Speaking of individual small things adding up: many many donations small and large to schools and animal welfare and women's and LGBTQ causes in rural Alaska during the running of the Iditarod. It just topped $100K. In two weeks. And it's still going on. Schools will have programs and supplies

#UglyDogs you impact in ways you don't expect Before #Igivearod never knew about Donors Choose even though I worked in public ed. for decades. A teacher at my school wanted to make a sensory room for students to chill in when needed. I told her about Donors Choose and she was able to fund it 🩵

The power of this community will never cease to amaze me. A little over 2.5 hours after I posted the matching challenge, the Igivearod has hit $90,000 to reach the goal set. Y'all are heroes in my book.

The sprint is on! We’re down to needing $1,869 to reach a total of $90,000 and receive the $10,000 match! #igivearod #MusherSky

We got those snacks, well done #UglyDogs. These two are under $200. The 1st is a Stem project, I’m a big fan. The 2nd mentions glitter. As an elementary custodian glitter is my nemesis, but the kids love it and I love art. So let’s go www.donorschoose.org/igivearod25

#UglyDogs as an Alaskan, THANK YOU! Our schools have been underfunded for years, so these projects are really important. You have made a difference for so many kids!!!

We just reached $80,000 in donations! Another $10,00 to go! #UglyDogs #igivearod #MusherSky

Another #igivearod match challenge!

Sending all our congrats to Jessie Holmes on his first #Iditarod win! Here’s the updated #igivearod totals for today, including the match funds from Mac, Espy, and Elm. There’s still mushers out completing the trail and the current Red Lantern is maybe two days out from arrival in Nome.

Look at all of Bine's new friends, including my buddy Ash! Thanks @elkers.bsky.social ! It was so cool getting to watch your stream. #uglydogs #igivearod

As #igivearod2025 creeps toward $80k I just want to say how lovely it’s been to be part of something so beautiful during a year when anger and ugliness seem to be the go to. Love love love the #uglydogs

This was you all! Thank you for your generosity!

Well, well. Team. You did not understand the assignment. I wanted to string you all along on a nice multi-day journey of donations and stories, but you had to do it your way. @esp1371.bsky.social and me just sent our matches, and once @elmtree.bsky.social does, the GFM is fully funded. #UglyDogs