A team representing the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals at the University of Vermont Medical Center pulls a fully-loaded fire truck down Church Street during Outright Vermont’s annual Fire Truck Pull fundraiser in Burlington on September 28, 2025. Photo by Joshua Defibaugh / University of Vermont Office of the Vice President for Research

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public

BURLINGTON — Outright Vermont hosted its signature Fire Truck Pull for the last time on Saturday, raising more than $250,000 for LGBTQ youth programs.

The Fire Truck Pull is Outright Vermont’s annual fundraising event and block party. Teams dress in costumes and race to pull a fire truck down Church Street. All the money raised goes to support Outright Vermont’s programs for LGBTQ youth. The event started in 2005.

“The idea was to bring folks together, peer-to-peer, to share about the importance of ‘pulling’ for LGBTQ youth,” said Outright Vermont executive director Dana Kaplan. “And to do it in a fun, community-based way, with incredible outfits and all the queer joy.” 

People pull a fire truck on a rope, tug-of-war style.
The Rhino Foods team pulls a fully-loaded fire truck down Church Street during Outright Vermont’s annual Fire Truck Pull fundraiser in Burlington on September 28, 2025. Photo by Kelsey Kupferer / Community News Service

Outright Vermont announced in May that it planned to retire the event after this year to focus on other priorities. Its goal was to make the last pull the biggest one yet — and it was. The event exceeded its fundraising goal by more than $50,000, and a record number of teams — more than two dozen — participated. Many teams represented Vermont businesses, including CrossFit Burlington, Darn Tough, Hula and Rhino Foods.

The team that fundraised the most money was Team Transparent. The team has been competing in the Fire Truck Pull for a decade. This year, its members raised more than $45,000.

“Team Transparent is made up of parents of trans or nonbinary youth that have come together through Outright to learn how to best support their kids,” said team captain Timna Dulmer. “This is one of my favorite events of the whole year, to fundraise for such an amazing organization, and also to have all of these kids how much we’re pulling for them, and that we will never stop fighting for them.”

Two people pose with a sign that reads "Team Trans Parent."
Jess Kell and Timna Dulmer pose with their team, Team Transparent, during Outright Vermont’s annual Fire Truck Pull fundraiser in Burlington on September 28, 2025. Photo by Kelsey Kupferer / Community News Service

First-time Fire Truck Pull participant Christie Gordon joined a team of nurses from the University of Vermont Medical Center. “We see a lot of people in the worst times of their life in the hospital,” she said. “So I think it’s really great when we can be out supporting people during the best times of their life too, and support them in celebrating who they are.”

A woman wearing green glasses and a bright blue wig poses in front of a fire truck.
Christie Gordon participated in the Fire Truck Pull for the first time this year. She was part of a team representing the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Photo by Kelsey Kupferer / Community News Service

Fourteen-year-old Sage Bernhardt was one of the event’s youth judges. They helped pick the winners of event awards like “Best Costumes” and “Fan Favorite.”

“I didn’t even have a favorite team,” Sage said. “In my mind, they’re all top. They all deserve a trophy.”

Sage is involved with Outright Vermont’s Friday Night Group, a drop-in social group for LGBTQ teens that has met weekly since Outright Vermont began in 1989.

“In the Friday Night group, you can just drop in, there’s food, and you get to hang out and meet a bunch of new people,” Sage said. “It’s a safe community where you can actually be yourself and you won’t get judged. It’s really been an awesome experience for me so far there.”

A fourteen-year-old with blonde hair smiles holding a clip board.
Sage Bernhardt poses during Outright Vermont’s annual Fire Truck Pull fundraiser in Burlington on September 28, 2025. They were a youth judge during the event, and they helped choose the winners of awards like “Best Costumes” and “Fan Favorite.” Photo by Kelsey Kupferer / Community News Service

Kaplan says Outright Vermont is sunsetting the Fire Truck Pull so it can prioritize other fundraising efforts and events that better reflect what youth want. A major focus for the organization is its recent purchase of Camp Sunrise, a 146-acre parcel of land in Addison and Rutland counties that will become the permanent home of Outright Vermont’s summer camp for LGBTQ and allied youth.

“As an organization that works alongside LGBTQ youth, we understand the importance of knowing when it’s time to change and to grow into the next version of yourself,” Kaplan said. “This event has been incredible, and it has served its time. We are ready to pivot to what comes next.”