October 8, 2020 by Charlie Eisenhood in Livewire, News with 0 comments
Shea Serrano, a bestselling author and staff writer at The Ringer, sent $200 to Atlanta Ozone player and Atlanta Soul coach Anraya Palmer as a part of his ongoing Twitter campaign of direct cash giveaways.
Palmer, an elementary school teacher and the winner of the 2019 Kathy Pufahl Spirit Award, replied to a Serrano tweet saying that he wanted to “pay some bills for a few teachers.”
I teach kindergarten and have 6 in person this year. Sometimes I rock my @WNBA gear at school. Here’s me in my A’ja jersey after making finals.
Venmo: Anraya-Palmer pic.twitter.com/QC5YGBa8yf
— Anraya 🏳️⚧️Protect Trans Kids🏳️⚧️ (@apalm_is_napalm) October 6, 2020
Two minutes later, Serrano replied with a screenshot of a $200 donation to Palmer through the payment app Venmo.
teacher gang 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 https://t.co/cSBWDqV4Ty pic.twitter.com/QGcq5XOV4P
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) October 6, 2020
Palmer tweeted back her thanks for Serrano’s generosity:
Not a ton of money for supplies from the school this year so definitely grateful for this!
Thank you @SheaSerrano! Ps let’s go Aces ♦️ https://t.co/cwsLKItpPW
— Anraya 🏳️⚧️Protect Trans Kids🏳️⚧️ (@apalm_is_napalm) October 6, 2020
Serrano has been doing a social media driven form of crowdfunding with his “FOH army” for years. Back in March at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he raised $10,000 from his followers in just three days that he donated directly to people “who [have] a bill coming up that they’re not sure they’re gonna be able to pay.” In April, he raised $100,000 for the San Antonio food bank in just eight hours.
Palmer told Ultiworld that she was surprised and pleased about getting the donation. “It was totally unexpected,” she said. “I just happened to check Twitter at the right time. I saw he was sending money to teachers so I decided to shoot my shot! Shea is one of my favorite Twitter follows. Because I follow him, I know about his support of the WNBA and that he’s an Aces fan. Definitely used that info when I replied to his tweet. I think Shea is awesome and I love how he uses his platform. He has inspired me to continue to give back, whether it be through donations or through volunteer work. And I think that’s an important message for everyone!
