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COMMANDERS’
DINNER On February 16, 2002, the Foundation will host the first Commanders’ Dinner. This event is intended to honor those who have made contributions of $250.00 or more, and is a counterpart to Tom’s Cocktail Party, honoring contributors of $100.00 or more, which was held for the first time last June. The Commanders’ Dinner will begin with cocktails, followed by Tom’s favorite dinner, at Tom’s home, now Foundation HQ. It will be a very special evening, with our guests being pampered by a Stable of Sexy Studs from the porn industry and our Volunteer Corps.< We hope the Dinner and the Cocktail Party will both become cherished traditions as the years pass. If you’d like to be part of the first Commanders’ Dinner, it’s not too late to join at the Commander level, or upgrade your present membership status – do it today and you’ll be on the guest list! FUND-RAISERS
AT THE RESORTS November 11 saw two Foundation fund-raisers, at two different gay resorts in California. In Palm Springs, Leather Pride Weekend was the occasion for a fund-raising event during the Sunday afternoon beer bust at Wolfs Den. This was the second year in a row that Wolfs Den has hosted a Tom event, and it was a fitting coda to a weekend in which leatherfolk took over the town! The Foundation netted $650.00, and many thanks to Bill O’Connell and the staff at Wolfs for their hospitality and generosity! Volunteer
Renato Brito working at the Palm Springs Fundraiser Meanwhile, on the same day, in the northern California resort of Russian River, The Russian River Eagle Bar owned by Jake Schwartz had its leather weekend, with a Silent Auction held for the Foundation. The event brought $415.00 into our coffers – for which we are very thankful! ADDITIONS TO THE PERMANENT COLLECTION The following donations have been accepted into the Foundation’s Permanent Collection during the last quarter of this year. We want to personally thank all for their contributions. John Rand - - 1 photo of his work Kir Od - - 1 wall sculpture Michael Kirwan - - 2 color pen and ink works Ted Fusby - - 4 color pen works Lewd - - 2 computer digital works Wild Seduction - - 2 computer digitial works Teddy of Paris - - 1 rough sketch Palanca - - 1 colored pencil work Frank Olson - - Donations of originals of Strider, Orsen, Jim French and several others TOM’S MEN COME TO LIFE The Foundation put out the word for interested parties in the animation business to come together and work on an animation using the art work of our co-founder Touko Laaksonen aka Tom of Finland. We have had four meetings, and more than ten fellows in the industry are contributing their talents to work on this project. We agreed that we would start by producing a safe sex Public Service Announcement (PSA): it will be provided to adult video companies to add to products, and television stations worldwide, as well as internet sites and other interested parties, will have access to it as well. We hope the Foundation can be a bridge between the non-profit AIDS organizations and the adult industry in working on a project that serves both entities. Yes, animation is one of the most expensive artforms that exist, but it is also one of the best received at this period of our culture. We have the talent, and now we have to raise the money: the budget we have devised is approximately $50,000 for a one-minute PSA. Since the Foundation will be the owner of the project, all contributions toward the production will be tax-deductible. We are very excited that Tom’s style and humor will finally be presented in animation form – something he very much wanted but wasn’t able to achieve in his lifetime. If you are interested in participating, either financially or otherwise, please contact us. It is our plan for the PSA to showcase the talents of all involved, and hopefully create interest and stimulate future funding for a complete animated short to be produced thereafter. So come on, join the action and help bring Kake to life! |
