The Swiftie effect is at it again, this time with Taylor Swift inspiring fans to donate more than $2.3 million to help protect sea otters. Just hours after the release of her new short film, “A Dancer’s Formal Graduation Party,” donations to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter program skyrocketed. This was because in one of the shots the singer appeared wearing a vintage aquarium t-shirt.
Representatives of the institution admitted that they were shocked by the scale of the response. “It quickly became clear that this was more than a pop culture moment; it was an opportunity to showcase our mission to a global audience,” the aquarium said. The campaign reached its initial goal of $1.3 million within seven hours of launch, and the next day the amount exceeded $2.3 million.
The team noted an interesting detail: the first donations of $13, which Taylor considered lucky, began to arrive even before the official start of fundraising. After the images of the movie went viral on social media, there was a boom in sales of two otter-themed vintage t-shirts.
The original design was created in 1993 and has now been sustainably reprinted using plastic-free cotton and water-based inks. All 50,000 t-shirts sold out within a few hours, and the aquarium had to open pre-orders to keep up with demand. “Quick, you really put words into action,” aquarium representatives added with a smile.
Swift’s interest in otters appears to be tied to her fiancé, athlete Travis Kelce. The couple has joked multiple times on their podcast that they “dream about rescuing a wild otter.” “He wants to meet an otter who he will save and they will be friends forever,” the singer said with humor.
The Sea Otter program has been in operation for over forty years and has resulted in the rescue of over a thousand animals. All funds raised by Swift and her fans will go towards otter care, scientific research and the preservation of ocean ecosystems.
Additionally, Taylor recently donated $100,000 to a two-year-old girl battling a rare form of brain cancer. The singer has previously donated to food banks, visited patients in children’s hospitals and paid generous bonuses to her Eras Tour team.
Source: People Talk
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
