Charity

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Suzette
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First, I'd like to say "Hi" to all my friends. For those of you that
don't know me, I'm Suzette. I wasn't able to attend many of the events
last year because of prior commitments. However, I did play golf, and
for those of you who didn't, you missed a really fun time! And some of
you I met at Bahama Breeze on our last night. But here's something that
I've been thinking about. All too often our community receives negative
publicity. Now it's my understanding that last year we had 100 plus
people attend the event. I also know that many of us are on budgets, and
with our weak economy, some of us might even be in dire straits. But for
those of us who could spare 10, 20, or 25 dollars, we could put together
a nice little check for a local charity here in Las Vegas. In addition
to helping a charitable cause in a positive way, we could also gain some
positive recognition for our community in doing so.

So please let me know your feelings about this.

Hug

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(This posting was entered by Suzette, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: annie
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>Now it's my understanding that last year we had 100 plus people
>attend the event.

Yes, 175 was the official headcount after all of the stragglers
were accounted for.

>But for those of us who could spare 10, 20, or 25 dollars, we could
>put together a nice little check for a local charity here in Las
>Vegas. In addition to helping a charitable cause in a positive
>way, we could also gain some positive recognition for our community
>in doing so.

Here's what I would suggest.

Everything that happens at DLV has happened because somebody saw
it as a priority and took the initiative to make it happen.

This is your cue. If you feel strongly about this, then go ahead
and organize it. Please coordinate it with the DLV organizers.
(e-mail: dlvorg@geekbabe.com)

The only possible objection that I can envision is if the
solicitations became annoying.

One of the local Chicago people did such a thing last year at
Pinkfest and did collect a modest sum for a local cause.

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Denise McCracken
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> So please let me know your feelings about this.

That's it. I'm out. Maybe I'll go to Vegas later in the year, when I
can put my daughter on a truck for an OTR and have a real vacation,
with no worries, which is what DLV was before it turned into a
clusterf*. Maybe some of the locals will join me for a drink, or some
karaoke.

DLV was fun in the 90's, a nice vacation in the early 2000's, but now
it's just a bunch of BS. Why don't you call it the DLV Vacation
Memorial Charity, and let the people who have been trying to turn this
into one more convention since 2000 or so just have their way?

Reality check here...the reason you get negative publicity is that most
people don't want to look at a bunch of men walking around in women's
clothes. That's why they snicker behind your back and make fun of your
a**es. The 2% or so who dress absolutely ridiculous in a public venue
make it even worse, but very few are passable anyway. It was a way to
have a vacation with a little safety in numbers, and support each other
so that we didn't have to worry about what the public thinks. They
don't like us, and the gay community doesn't mesh too well with
us...that's why we had each other. Throwing money at people might get
you a thank-you letter. It's not going to make you anyone more
accepting of you.

-denise

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(This posting was entered by Denise McCracken, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
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Its a nice idea, but I don't quite see how this charity thing can help
reduce negative publicity or help DLV specifically or in general.

Even if we got 175 of us to donate $25, the total is $4375.

$4375 is $4375 and to a individual like me, its a lot of money for a
donation, but isn't very much in comparison to recognized donations from
service organizations that have fund raising events and collectively
give 10s of thousands.

It may end up with a thank you letter to Annie or whomever organizes
this, or DLV listed on some plaque or some paper document, or listed in
the local paper or newsletter amongst many others who have donated
monies.

People that see this name on a list may see it as only a name amongst
other names. They have no clue to what DLV is about.

Do we wear and wave that donation like a badge to every venue we use and
expect differential or better treatment or respect? ie " DLV, that
donated $4375 to xxxxxx in 2009."

Who collects the money and how do we ensure that money in its entirety
is donated and not pocketed partially or the whole by someone. Money
collection holding has always been a problem for us and any
organization.

Who determines which charitable organization to give the money to that
will improve our image the most? We hare having a hard enough time with
setting our annual date!

If we do this, then DLV moves into the direction to become a community
service organization. Do we have to declare or register DLV as a
non-profit organization because of the amount of money collected and
donation?

I feel we are doing enough good public relations by having successful
events in mainstream places like Bahama Breeze.

I'm not sure if we are going in a different direction from the
simplicity of what DLV was originally designed for, which is focused on
being a vacation.

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(This posting was entered by kumiko yvonne watanabe, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: annie
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>I'm not sure if we are going in a different direction from the
>simplicity of what DLV was originally designed for, which is
>focused on being a vacation.

You bring up a very good point, as it's been affirmed over and
over that our single purpose is to coordinate one social event
a year in Las Vegas.

There seems to be a tendency in many TG organizations to try to
expand, and to try to be all things to all people. We (DLV) did
establish very early in our years that we were not going to try
to replicate what is already provided by support groups or the
major (at the time) TG events.

Also, public outreach has never been a stated purpose of DLV,
although our attendees have bordered on this several times
"on their own time" so to speak.

>I don't quite see how this charity thing can help reduce
>negative publicity or help DLV specifically or in general.

What negative publicity?

The only thing I can think of that even comes close to negative
publicity is one guilt-by-association allegation regarding some
behavior that was right out of Animal House. I've always heard
that it was concluded that our people were not responsible.

>Who collects the money and how do we ensure that money in its
>entirety is donated and not pocketed partially or the whole ...

Grab can of worms, walk toward can opener. Enough said!

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: kumiko yvonne watanabe
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> What negative publicity?

It was referring to Suzette's email where she talks about collecting
a donation:
----
>> All too often our community receives negative publicity. <cut>
>> ... In addition to helping a charitable cause in a positive way,
>> we could also gain some positive recognition for our community in doing so.
----

It wasn't anything that was pointing to some particular event or situation.

- Kumiko

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(This posting was entered by kumiko yvonne watanabe, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Suzette
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Thank You Annie for the explanation of what the Divas are about, and
the direction you see the group heading. You're intelligent and
respectful...admirable qualities! I look forward to meeting you next
year.

So I withdraw my proposal for any charity donations or events.

Hugs, Suzette

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(This posting was entered by Suzette, an external user of MyDLV.)