A friendly challenge sparked by a portrait of Jimothy, Seattle’s favorite short-spined raccoon, has now drawn in 11 regional heavyweights — and with a big new donation from Amazon, driven the total raised for the Ballard Food Bank past $270,000.
Amazon announced Friday that it is adding an additional $200,000 to a pot that already included $71,975.31 in matching contributions from coffee and software giants, airlines, pro sports teams, and others.
The corporate generosity started as a grassroots effort on Instagram in July, where prolific Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward auctioned a 24-by-24-inch painting of the internet-famous raccoon to benefit the food bank. Buyer Angela Galdabini won the piece with an exact bid of $6,543.21 — prompting Amazon to match the amount and issue a public callout challenging other local brands to step up.
Ten companies stepped up to match the bid: Alaska Airlines, Brooks Running, Microsoft, the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Kraken, Stanley 1913, Starbucks, T-Mobile, WaFd Bank, and Windermere Midtown.
It all sparked a Jimothy love-fest on social media with the brands responding to each other.
Jimothy’s path from Ballard backyards to corporate mascot of sorts began when photos and videos of the round raccoon started circulating online. Born with a rare condition that gives him a compressed, neckless posture, the creature quickly captured Seattle’s — and the internet’s — heart.
The flood of artwork, music, tattoos, food items, memes and more dedicated to Jimothy doesn’t appear to be slowing down, as this Reddit sub demonstrates.
The Mariners held a Jimothy night on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park, where the first 20,000 fans received trading cards with the raccoon’s “stats.” Ben Trammel, who shot video of Jimothy as a baby last year, threw out the first pitch. It all proved so popular that a second Jimothy night was added for Friday.
