InstagramEireann Dolan's boyfriend Sean Doolittle plays for the Oakland A's, and both of her moms just so happen to be big fans of the team.
So when the A's announced that June 17's game would be LGBT Pride Night, Eireann was excited, but that didn't last long. In her Thank You Based Ball blog, Eireann wrote that she "was saddened to read some of the replies about [the A's] decision to have a night of inclusion for the LGBT community"—especially when she saw "many season ticket holders (certainly not all of them) [who] indicated a desire to sell their tickets to that game so they wouldn't have to attend."
So she had an idea and offered to buy as many tickets as she could ("I will buy them from you at face value. As many as I can. No judgments. No questions asked," she wrote) from anyone who might feel "uncomfortable" attending the LGBT Pride Night game.
"Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs and as long as nobody is getting hurt, I'm happy," she wrote. "I also can't stop you from selling your tickets. I won't tell you that you are wrong or that you are not allowed to think or act that way."
"From there, I will donate any tickets I purchase to the Bay Area Youth Center's Our Space community for LGBT2 youth," she wrote. "That way you don't have to feel uncomfortable, and the seats don't go to waste. It's win-win."
Eireann was not surprised to find that the response to her post was "overwhelmingly positive." She noted that many people offered to donate their tickets, and others have donated money to buy the tickets for the Our Space community youth. That's not all, though!
"My boyfriend, Oakland A's pitcher Sean Doolittle, has agreed to match any tickets I purchase," wrote Eireann. "And we also started a GoFundMe account to collect donations to fill the stands at this game...Sean and I will match donations up to $3000."
That GoFundMe account took off, bringing in over $16,000 in less than 2 days—exceeding the original goal! Eireann noted that anything above $6,000 will be donated equally to Our Space, AIDS Project East Bay and Frameline.
Within a day of the GoFundMe campaign going live, Eireinn announced the the A's "have already opened up THREE new seating sections (up from just one) for Pride Night to let even more people in on the fun."
Countless supporters have donated—including fans of the A's rival teams! As one contributor noted to Eireann, her moms "obviously did a fantastic job" in raising her.