Earpers, you truly are a magical bunch and that’s crystal clear now more than ever. After the success that our Spirit Day 2017 campaign had, Bonnie, Kevin and myself set out to do some more good with GLAAD’s 2018 campaign. While last year was fun and incredible, we figured it was a magical little spur of the moment thing and we’d never be able to recapture that lightning in a bottle again. So we went into this year with a higher initial goal of $5,000, but really we were thinking we’d be grateful to get that and maybe a little more. When will we learn? Never underestimate the power of the Earper fandom! You all have once again channeled that patented “polite no chill” into something absolutely incredible and as I write this, have raised over $17,600 and counting!

At times this year the world has been incredibly dark for many of us, but Earpers seem to always be a shining light that offers up love, laughs and hope. This Spirit Day campaign has perfectly encapsulated everything that is so wonderful about our fandom. The Wynonna Earp fandom is one built on love, kindness and inclusivity. There’s no room for bullying and Earpers accept each other for who they are, and that’s exactly what Spirit Day is about. Too many young LGBTQ people get bullied or harassed simply for being themselves, and it was amazing to see so many Earpers take a stand and say “I want it to be better for them.”

With those principles in mind, we decided to set up a campaign for this year and thanks to Paige and the amazing people at Seven24 Films, along with showrunner Emily Andras, we had some pretty cool prizes to giveaway to those that donated. What we didn’t expect was that as soon as the campaign launched, we would start to get contacted by Earpers, Earper conventions, fan artists and even TV writers on other Canadian TV shows that wanted donate and offer up giveaway items. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t once again thank the Wynonna Earp writers for stepping in and helping us blow past $10,000 with their offer to name a Season 4 character after someone who donated. Everyone’s kindness and generosity, along with the amount of Earpers that just kept donating, truly blew us away at every single turn.

Remember that cute little $5,000 goal we set at the start of the campaign? It was blown away by lunchtime as the Earpers hit $7,500, $10,000, $12,500, $15,000 and are now well on their way to $20,000! Can you even imagine? Whenever you start to doubt that good will triumph over evil, remember this day when the love, kindness and generosity of Earpers moved mountains and raised over $15,000 in less than 24 hours. I know I’m repeating myself at this point, but it’s simply incredible and seems to have left me at a loss of words.

The other really great part about this Spirit Day campaign was the way that Earpers did it together. As I mentioned, not only did lots of Earpers reach out and donate items to giveaway, but many Earpers were tracking it during the day. I often didn’t even have to check the campaign page to know how much we had raised because Earpers would tweet every single milestone. It was clear this was something we were all going to make happen and watching it unfold online all day with you filled our hearts in the biggest and best ways.

One of our only regrets of this campaign is that it’s impossible to thank each and every one of you who made a donation or contributed a giveaway item. Also, if you weren’t able to donate but just spread the word for us, thank you for that too. Getting the message out and spreading the word is so important and we really appreciate it. This was truly a joint effort, and the fact that this fandom did it together made it all the more enjoyable, and a heck of a lot of fun.

The generosity, kindness and caring for others that Earpers consistently put out into the world is going to do so much good. You’ve all already proved that time and again and we suspect you won’t be slowing down any time soon. The three of us can’t say enough how proud and honored we are to be a part of this community that is so kind, compassionate, loving and funny. Earpers, you made this campaign what it is and you should be so proud. This isn’t the end of it, as it’ll stay open for 11 more days and we would love to get to $20,000, but it is just a huge THANK YOU to everyone for being a part of it.

You are all bright spots in the dark, Earpers. You are the change you want to see in the world and it’s a better place here because of you. Never stop and keep fighting. If you do feel down, this campaign is solid proof there’s a whole bunch of other Earpers out there ready to step up and have your back if called upon. Kindness is contagious and we’re grateful for the way you’ve shown us that kindness, and now through this campaign showed a whole new generation.

With love from the bottom of our hearts,

Bridget, Bonnie and Kevin

NOTE: We are in no way affiliated with Wynonna Earp, IDW or NBC Entertainment. We want to give a huge special thanks to Del (@Srslyomgwtfbro), Laura (@Lcs1321), Casandra (@turbo84) and Letty (@thelettgo) for use of their Purgatory Pride photo and Jill (@nedleysoffice) for art edits. Thanks to Paige and the folks at Seven24 (@SEVEN24films) for their prize donations, the Wynonna Earp writers (@WynonnaWriters) and Rachel Langer (@rachlanger). Also thanks to the following Earpers who donated: Kat Jetson (@katjetson), @ValconyTron, Megan (@Nuutmeg), Earp-a-palooza, Earp Expo, Lynn Rachels (@lynn_rachels), Collins (@collins3779) and Kira Beaudoin (@KiraBeaudoin)