Tribe and Play Dance Bar held a fundraising party on Wednesday, September 15 in support of those affected by Hurricane Katrina and raised $6,500 for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
"New Orleans holds such a special place in the lives of the gay & lesbian community and all Americans, and our customers and employees were eager to do something to make a difference," said Todd Roman, co-owner of Play. "Loy Carney, one of our bartenders at Tribe, put together an auction that included donations from Lumen Lighting, local artists Trevor & Steve Dutton, LMT Jimmy Smith, Chef Tracy Barkley, Play Dance Bar, and others. We also asked for donations at the door, gave 50% of all food sales from Tribe, and all cover charges from Play that night."
The result was far beyond our expectations. "We had hoped to raise $3,000, but when the final tally was made, we had raised $6,500," said Roman.
"When Tribe opened in 2001 and continuing with Play when it opened last year, we set an expectation with ourselves and the community that we would work hard to do our share to support local and national charitable organizations," said Keith Blaydes, co-owner of Tribe & Play. "Sponsoring events in town to help non-profit groups succeed is an important part of what we do. We really felt that we had an obligation to do something to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and are absolutely thrilled that our customers, staff, and friends were so generous to support the fundraiser last Wednesday."
Tribe's next major community fundraiser is its Artrageous Pre-Party on Friday, November 11th. Tribe will have art and other donated items (including a set of Bridgestone tires) up for auction with all of the proceeds going to Nashville CARES. And Tribe hosts HRC Post Office on the first Friday of every month - where participants pay $5 to send and receive messages from other participants with all money raised donated to the Human Rights Campaign and with Kennith Cameron of American Home Mortgage matching this money in a donation for the Tennessee Equality Project.