COMMENTARY
Fashion Twitters
By: Miss Raquel
Let me start this rant off plain and simple every charity event has a purpose; to make money. And to contribute to the charity the organizer’s feel strongly about and/or is politically correct for their business.
This year’s annual Fashion Cares (FC) event, which I refer to as Fashion Twitters changed a couple of hands within the organization and how they ran this year’s (2007) event.
To put it bluntly, I’m pissed!
You see Scenester Magazine who has covered Fashion Cares for the past three years were told we weren’t on the media list. This is fine and OK. This is not what I’m totally pissed at.
What pisses me off is Scenester Magazine donated $2000 to ACT. We have ACT as our exclusive charity advertiser in Scenester Magazine and on Scenester’s site, www.scenestermag.com. Not to mention my mother volunteered for seven years at ACT, Casey House and volunteered at Fashion Cares three years.
Kevin Hartley, Director of Marketing and Development for ACT said, “…people don’t seem to want to give us money without us putting on an event!”
Hello! Didn’t you just read Scenester donated $2000 to ACT? And I can assure you we’re not the only company to donate to ACT out of our good will to a charity we will feel strongly about.
I had a third cousin who died of AIDS. I don’t know of any of my friends who are HIV positive or have AIDS (although I’m sure there is but I don’t know it). I saw HIV/AIDS patients my mother took care of as a child and the hurt and distress this disease causes is one of grief. As a child growing up seeing this through my mother’s experiences made me realize none of us are invincible and this disease has no prejudice.
If you ask me I found this years Fashion Cares full of prejudice by not allowing principal mediums to this event to cover it the way they have been for years now.
$1000 for the gala dinner and $10,000 bids on exotic vacations! To be honest I never attended the dinner before, and now never will much less afford a $10,000 vacation. I’d rather donate directly to ACT and attend the show or after-party.
Has this alienated the gay community? No, it has estranged human kind. Unfortunately I find this atrocity a disservice to the event and its sole purpose.
Admission tickets were $175 or $75 for the after-party held at Toronto’s Kool Haus.
FC chair Ellen Smith says, “We want to raise a million dollars and I think we will. Pure and simple.” Ellen’s background is in marketing strategy and replaced former FC Chair Rose Mastnak. Well, Ellen my background lies within advertising and I maintain this skill in my present position. And if memory serves me well there is a saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. You see this new entourage of FC folks feels last year’s event didn’t bring in the bucks this kind of event could and should have.
Let it be noted only 30% of all proceeds legally need to go to a charity while the remaining 70% go to the hands of the organizers. You can do the math.
This is a charity event and serves a purpose other than the bucks. AIDS touches those involved in such an emotional way no dollar amount can compensate and at the same time every dollar donated counts. Those who care attend. Some who don’t care only go to use the $1000 gala dinner price as a tax right off.
The Metro Toronto Convention Centre to some was not the best venue to have Fashion Cares held in due to it being dark, but at least it was warm. Moving the event to another location turned out to be a cold empty idea. It didn’t warrant a $1000 a plate! Yet, FC Executive Producer Chip Quigley says ACT will get, “as much if not more money” due to it being held at a smaller venue.
From what I heard it was a weak event and didn’t serve $1000 worth of anything.
To even compare this event with Studio 54 as was once stated is absurd! Gleberzone said, “It’s a charity event! Why make this a buzz event when you want lots people flowing in with their money?” Yet The Distillery District this year’s FC was held at holds 1,800 people. Gleberzone didn’t think this event should have 5000 people attending it including those who got in for free, hence the mediums who have a voice. Yet how much do you want to bet his closest friends and family got in for free?
Quigley won an Emmy for producing a CBS special called, “Fashion Rocks”. Oh! So this FC was like Studio 54!
Ellen Smith says, “You look for the people out there who are interested in the cause and doing good work,” WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK SCENESTER HAS BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS?
What do you think my mother did for seven years of her life? Surly this constitutes interest in the cause and doing good work. What has Ellen, Gleberzone or Quigley done for ACT personally?
The theme (music and fashion) of FC is simply the icing on the cake and really doesn’t matter come the end of the event, it’s the cause, seeing all the people there for a good party and who care about HIV/AIDS and donated not only their money but time and effort in attending this event…guess some of these folks didn’t attend due to the high price tag. And let us not forget the various mediums who were not fashion worthy enough to be invited even thought they have the largest voice.
Community - forgotten. Care - Look-up the definition!
I contacted CNW Group inquiring about why Scenester was not allowed to attend this year’s event and I never received a reply or should I say they opted to contact my photographer/writer rather than me instead. I wonder why?
Has this new organization thought about those living with HIV/AIDS and what they really care about? It sure in hell is not some stupid over priced charity event. Its life, their life they care about, but then again people like Quigley and Smith probably have no idea because they can go out every morning buy a coffee and walk down the street with the sun shining on their face unlike a person infected with HIV/AIDS who would never take this granted!
A warm thank-you to June Callwood (read “Jim a Life with Aids”)
My mother once cared for David a professor at U of T who tried to commit suicide. Lord knows my mom was there for him, trying as her kind heart could to aid him in his time of sorrow.
He didn’t succeed at suicide that time, but will is strong and sadly he later slashed his throat.
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