Well folks, we’ve come to the end of another Pride Month. And as always, we were very busy bringing you articles about the LGBTQ+ people in your neighborhood and the issues we all face. We spoke with Charley Feldman about their career and experience writing “I’m Pogey” for Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. We talked about Anything Muppets as a metaphor for nonbinary people. We discussed why there aren’t more queer Muppets. And lastly, we talked about a classic Sesame Street episode that taught us about diversity and rainbows.
But of course, as always, we’re proudest of the work we all did to raise money for charities. As we did last year, this year we supported True Colors United, The Trevor Project, and Advocates for Trans Equality. We raised money for these charities through sales of LGBTQ+ merch, but also through a donation contest. As you remember, you could have donated to these charities to be able to win a ton of prizes, ranging from Labyrinth prop replicas to prints to a penguin puppet!
We finished everything off with a fundraising livestream, which featured silly Muppet art, trivia, and special guest stars from around the Muppet fan art community, plus Stoph Scheer and Jacob Graham from The Creatures of Yes. On the stream, we also announced the winners of all our prizes.
If you missed the stream, or want to relive it, you can check our the full video on our YouTube!
But here’s the real exciting news. This year, thanks to your help, we raised $5,410.81 for these three charities.
Let that sink in. Muppet fans raised almost $5.5k to support LGBTQ+ people. That’s more than we raised in 2023 and 2024 combined. At a time when LGBTQ+ people are dealing with an unprecedented level of discriminatory legislation at the federal level, Muppet fans reminded us once again that compassion still exists, and that we can always be the helpers we need.
Let me tell you a little story before we wrap up.
Like I said, right now LGBTQ+ people are facing so much hatred. Take it from me, an out and proud transgender woman: it can be isolating to feel like everyone in the country is out to get you. But this year, on June 29, I got two reminders that this isn’t the case. Firstly, I had the privilege of being invited to march with our pals at Sesame Workshop in the New York City Pride Parade, courtesy of their wonderful 123 Proud employee group.
The parade felt endless. Block after block, miles of people of all ages, races, and genders screaming and waving flags. More people than I can even describe, too many to photograph or videotape. All of these people, reminding each other that we are a massive community of LGBTQ+ people and allies. We aren’t alone, and together we are loud, strong, and can do great things.
That evening, I went home to do our livestream, and learned that the same was true of us Muppet fans. Together, we did something unbelievable. We aren’t alone. We aren’t small.
So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being a part of this. It’s a scary time, but we’ve got us.
Click here to take pride on the ToughPigs Discord!
by Becca Petunia
