This Tiger Earned Her Stripes Through Community Service

Sister Donatella Soul

Guardian of the Googly Eye, Fully Professed Member of The Asylum of the Tortured Heart, Pictionary player.

July 26th is a date to celebrate. It is not only the day to recognize her friend's birthday, but it is also the day Tiger's Pictionary was born. That evening in 2011 turned from a small event at #1 Fifth Avenue for the dear friend's birthday party to the bar staff asking if Tiger would return for a weekly event. That event turned into a weekly fundraiser that has been going for nearly a decade - Tiger's Pictionary!

Saint Tiger on the mic hosting Pictionary at #1 Fifth Avenue.

Tiger says of those first Pictionary events, "People began tipping me and I felt undeserving of this because I, too, was having so much fun. I collected my first one hundred dollars in tips and donated all of it to my favorite charity in San Diego, Special Delivery."

Click on the image above to learn about Special Delivery and to access services.

Tiger continues, "I began my initial fundraising for Special Delivery San Diego. Later, I began to add other charities to meet a variety of community needs and to fulfill requests for fundraising directly from the community."

Saint Tiger showcasing the many toiletries gathered by the STAT program that were distributed to out of home individuals in San Diego.

In 2015, Tiger founded St. Tiger's Annual Toiletries Drive. 

"I created the STAT Drive in an effort to help the rapidly growing homeless and houseless population in San Diego. Through Tiger's Pictionary and social media, I collected toiletry item donations and monetary donations to buy toiletries in bulk. These items were bagged and distributed annually directly to the homeless."

Members of the community and The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence gather to distribute STAT Drive toiletries to out of home individuals.

Members of the Hillcrest community and The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence joined Tiger to distribute the STAT Drive toiletries to out of home individuals on the streets. Says Tiger of the process, "It was an incredibly moving and humbling experience every year."

Over time, Tiger sharpened the focus of the Drive on homeless students who needed assistance. The project is called the SIN Drive, for Students In Need, and operates as a fundraiser. An annual donation is made through The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Sister Ida Know (aka Sister Vanna Whiteface) with St. Tiger. Sister Ida assisted Tiger with Pictionary for many years.

The first few months of Pictionary experienced growing attendance and donations. Members of The San Diego Sisters were attending on a regular basis. Tiger reminisces, "It became a bit too much for me to handle on my own, so I asked the Sisters to officially become a part of it. The role of the Sisters was to collect donated gifts for our giveaways and to assist each week. In exchange, I would reserve the first Wednesday of every month as a Sister fundraiser."

Members of The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with Saint Tiger during Tiger's Pictionary at #1 Fifth Avenue.

The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Asylum of the Tortured Heart, Sainted Tiger for her community service. The Sainting was conducted on the sidewalk in front of The Loft. Tiger describes the experience, "A Sister was visiting from San Francisco and she carried with her the ashes of the very first Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, mixed with the obligatory glitter of course. There was a brief meeting of the San Diego House, water was poured from a pitcher onto the ground for me to walk across, followed by a Blessing and Anointment with the first Sister's ashes. I was completely taken by surprise, but deeply moved and honored to become a part of the Sister family. Being Sainted strengthened my resolve to continue my work in the community."

Saint Tiger during reign as Ms. San Diego Leather 2010.

The Sainting of Tiger as St. Tiger of the Holy Phuck, Patron Saint of Phelonious Phun honored her for her community support since 1989. Tiger also holds the titles of Ms. San Diego Leather 2010 and Mama's SD Tiger.

"San Diego, specifically Hillcrest, holds a huge space in my heart, and I continue to enjoy supporting our community. One of my favorite events is my annual Tiger's Comedy Drag Birthday Fundraiser. It is an absolute tsunami of fun and laughter and we raise thousands of dollars each year."

Saint Tiger gets a pie in the face at a fundraising event.

"I try to keep the FUN in fundraising, the "cum" in community camaraderie, and I want each and every event I do for the community to include copious amounts of laughter and good cheer."

How has Covid-19 Affected Pictionary and Fundraising Efforts?

"Since Covid-19 risks shut down our venue [#1 Fifth Avenue], I moved Tiger's Pictionary online as a non-fundraising event, knowing that many people lost their income as a result. I didn't want them to feel guilty for not being able to donate."

"Because of the long-term relationship between Tiger's Pictionary and The San Diego Sisters, and because I love the Mission of the San Diego House and its ongoing support of the greater San Diego LGBTQ community, I offered The Sisters this continued opportunity to raise funds for their minimal overhead, and for their own charity recipients, even during the Covid-19 shutdown period. I want them to continue the great work they do in our community."

"We are now doing limited fundraising for The San Diego Sisters only.

Tiger's Pictionary has resumed in 2022 every Tuesday night between 7:30 and 10:00 at Number One Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest. For the most recent update from Sister Ida Know, click on the following link: Tiger's Pictionary Update.