HotmailPhilanthropic partygoers imbibe for good cause
Reaching a young audience
"The events have been a good way for us to reach out to a young audience that wouldn't otherwise know about the coalition, or the work that we're doing,” said Rachel Edelman, the coalition’s manager of special events. “Guests attend to have a fun evening, and we are able to use that opportunity to engage a younger crowd."
Pat Walsh helped start the nonprofit Stay Classy three years ago. The group began from a “pub crawl” in which a few dozen friends went from bar to bar and raised money for good causes through donations and drink specials. The event was a smash and raised several thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society.
The Pub Crawl is now a yearly fixture of the organization, however, the crawl has become more of a “shuffle” due to the large number of participants which forces the evening’s festivities to be confined to one venue. Walsh proudly explains that Stay Classy has evolved greatly since the Pub Crawl and they now arrange music, art and sports fundraisers as well as other social networking events for charity. Alcohol remains a fixture at almost all of their events and many of their corporate partners are companies that sell alcoholic beverages.
Asked if the organization would be as successful if alcohol was not available at the events, Walsh said, “Our first two events were marketed as pub crawls, so people tended to dwell on the misconception that the fundraising was a direct result of alcohol consumption. Our events are the catalyst for engaging young professionals to get involved in their community; drinking is not the focus. … The important thing is that we always encourage our members to drink responsibly. We've thrown dozens of events in the past three years and have never had a single problem due to alcohol.”
The Tillis said that DFC has not received any negative feedback about its practices and indicated that they hope to expand to other cities across the country.
MADD OK with events, with caveats
Misty Moyse, Mothers Against Drunk Driving national spokesperson says, “Of course as a nonprofit charity, we think raising money for a worthy cause is very important. Any organizations serving alcohol should have trained servers, serve responsibly as to not encourage binge drinking or over serve guests, never serve those under the age of 21, and ensure that sober designated drivers are provided and/or encouraged. We encourage everyone to plan ahead for safe ride home and to never drive drunk.”
Alcoholics Anonymous and Students Against Drunk Driving declined to comment on the organization’s practices.
DFC understands Moyse’s concerns and addresses them by partnering with reputable venues and relying on DFC board members to help police events and promote responsible drinking.
Addy Bonet, president and CEO of the Plainfield Area YMCA, said her organization has received money from the DFC and said she is “very confident about the organization because of the people who are running it.”
The accomplishment DFC is most proud of since its inception is the purchase of a thriving farm for HIV-positive orphans in Rwanda. DFC has raised a total of $2,000 for the Nsanginara AIDS Orphans Association – enough to purchase the farm, buy supplies and help pay the full-time staff that administers the operation.
Jon says that exemplifies the niche that DFC intends to fill, acting more like that of the Rotary Club to provide support for the organizations that are doing the front-line work.
“DFC is never going to be like … these organizations that actually do the providing of services,” he said.
DFC’s next event — "Thirsty Third Thursday" — will be held on Aug. 21 from 7-9 p.m. at Porky's NYC, 55 W 21st St.
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