
"As of writing this, I have raised close to $7 million in 2021."Īnd while quentin.quarantino is still a relatively new platform, Marcus had previously grown a following on another meme account where he was able to gain an understanding of the power that can be leveraged on social media. All of my fundraisers have raised at least six figures," he says. "My first fundraiser was a three-day fundraiser for Planned Parenthood, which raised $1.2 million. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Days prior, however, Marcus was already using his Instagram platform to speak out about the imminent risk to Afghan citizens and even shared his thoughts in a post "liked" by over 55,000 people. It was on Tuesday that people across the world gained insight into the conflict in Afghanistan, as the Taliban seized power in the country just two weeks after the United States withdrew troops after a two-decade war. "I decided I would do something to help Afghanistan last week, but it took a lot of research, vetting, phone calls, Zooms, to figure out the right effort with the most just cause." "I have built a really emotional bond with my audience over the past year and a half, and it was only natural to step in and help," Marcus tells Yahoo Life of his latest fundraising efforts, which aim to fund emergency flight rescues for Afghans at risk. Little did the 25-year-old living in New York City know that just over a year later the Instagram account would be used for the greater good by raising millions of dollars to save lives in Afghanistan. Tommy Marcus started the meme account on the first day of New York City's coronavirus lockdown on March 13, 2020, as a way to cope with the "absurdity" of the pandemic, the quarantine to come and the mixed feelings of people across the globe.
