PORTLAND, Ore. — Mike Bennett, wooden pop culture cutout extraordinaire, is still hiding your favorite characters around town for your viewing and selfie-taking pleasure.
But now, with a donation to a local charity, you can adopt one for yourself. Bennett has already raised $1700 dollars for various local charities all while his cutout babies find new homes.
So far the cause has given money to:
Not a cent is made by Bennett off his creations. His project began as a way to use up some spare wood he had in his garage and has flourished into a viral sensation.
Right now, Bennett wants to focus on giving to local charities, or ones that have a local impact. So if you're thinking about taking a cutout home, the artist said he would like to chat about the price of donation and which charity to give to. You can get in touch with him via his email mikebennettillustration@gmail.com or at his Instagram @mikebenettart
He said it's hard to let them go because he puts so much time and effort into them. He said to KGW in an online chat, "I treat it like a pet adoption! 'Will you send me photos of their new home? Tag me if you put them somewhere cool!'"
But with every cutout finding a home, Bennett said it keeps him creating.
"Whenever a big one leaves, my garage feels so empty," he wrote.
Bennett said he is open to ideas for charities to donate to so if you'd like an original Bennett cutout and you have a charity in mind he'd love to chat. He would like to donate to the following:
However, if you're still interested in just viewing Bennett's art and getting a photo for the 'gram you can follow him on social media to see what he's working on.