Thread by @jaketapper

I have some great news about the @HomesForOurTrps auction that ended last night!

As you know, a bunch of us — this year George Clooney, @mindykaling, @Wynonna, and me — ask athletes and actors and more to contribute swag and set visits and lunches for auction. The money goes...

2/ ...to @HomesForOurTrps, a top-rated charity that builds specially-designed homes for severely injured veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and their families.

Last year we raised $265k for the auction but this year because of the pandemic we set our goal lower — to $150K....

3/ We were worried because the items that usually go for the most $ tend to be participatory in nature: set visits or lunches or tickets to shows.

The COVID19 pandemic and economic crisis preclude those kind of items.

4/ Also obviously with the economic crisis caused by the pandemic many people just don’t have as much money to give to charity this year.

So we worked extra hard to get as many participants as possible from @JerrySeinfeld to Gwyneth Paltrow to Jennifer Aniston to the NFL etc

5/ In any case everyone pulled together and with the generosity of both the donors and the bidders this year‘s auction raised more than $400,000!

The number one item was a tennis lesson with @AndyRoddick! It went for $21,000!

But from the highest to the more modest bids, ...

6/ it was a HUGE team effort. A few matching offers came in so I want to single out for extra thanks Paul Rudd, @ChrisEvans, @jimmykimmel, Dave Matthews, & @greggutfeld for agreeing to offer their items twice!!!

SO generous!

7- There are too many people to thank here but I am so happy for this good news for @HomesForOurTrps and to see so many people pull together to thank veterans to say: we thank you, we owe you, we love you.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!! 🇺🇸