Drinking establishments of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic persuasions will open their doors to philanthropy next week for the return of an HIV/AIDS fundraiser.
Coffeehouses and bars around the area will team up for Bar AIDS, held Aug. 25, to raise funds for four local HIV/AIDS service organizations — ActionAIDS, Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia FIGHT and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania.
The event, which started in 2004 in Chicago, began in Philadelphia last year, raising $12,000 at the 12 participating locations.
This year, 18 venues are joining in, with several more expected to sign on by the event date.
“I think it’s a comforting sign that business owners still realize that these issues are important and are willing to put their finances where their hearts are,” Ronda Goldfein, AIDS Law Project executive director, said of the event’s growth.
The participating bars will donate one-third of the day’s sales, and coffeehouses 15 percent, with the resulting funds split equally among the four beneficiaries.
ActionAIDS development director Michael Byrne said organizers are hoping to net $20,000.
Byrne noted that the idea of Bar AIDS is similar to the long-running Dining Out for Life — in which area restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds from a single day to HIV/AIDS causes — and one that is just as easy to support.
“All you have to do to participate is to go to one of the participating businesses and have a cocktail or a coffee and your purchase will benefit someone living with HIV or AIDS.”
While organizers expected to increase the number of participating venues from the inaugural year, they particularly sought out more non-bar establishments.
“As a group, we really wanted to get more coffeehouses this year because we didn’t have too many last year and I think some people didn’t understand that the event is both alcohol and coffee,” Byrne said, noting that non-drinkers and those in recovery should feel comfortable supporting the mission of Bar AIDS.
So far, Café Cret, Café Twelve and both La Colombe locations have volunteered to participate, and Byrne expects other java shops to join in the next week.
The enhanced coffee-drinking focus was also illustrated through Bar AIDS advertisements, found throughout the city on outlets such as SEPTA bus shelters, that feature both a martini glass and a coffee cup.
Bar AIDS additionally has branched out to encompass venues beyond Center City, such as PYT in Northern Liberties and London Grill on Fairmount Avenue.
Byrne noted that London Grill, whose waitstaff was hard hit by the AIDS epidemic of the ’90s, is one of the few venues that has participated in Dining Out for Life all 21 years and was eager to get on board for this year’s Bar AIDS.
This year’s event could also get a boost from the influx of LGBTs coming into the city next week for the Amateur Softball Alliance of North America’s World Series and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association conference.
Byrne said Bar AIDS organizers have worked with local groups like City of Brotherly Love Softball League, which is staging the softball series, for such events as an ASANA bar crawl Thursday night.
No matter your motivation to go out Thursday, Goldfein noted Bar AIDS is a great excuse to enjoy the offerings of the city’s cafés and watering holes.
“It’s the best combination of fundraising elements: It gives you the opportunity to spend time with your friends having a cup of coffee, a yogurt, a cocktail and have that money support a cause you believe in. It’s like twice the deal for the price.”
For a full list of locations, follow Bar AIDS on Facebook.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].