Sister Donatella SoulGuardian 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! 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." 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." 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 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. 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." 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." 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." "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; still on the first Wednesday of every month to keep with tradition." "Tiger's Pictionary takes place the first Wednesday of every month from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Tiger's Facebook Page. Join the fun by clicking this link: Take Me To Tiger's Pictionary.
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Sister Rita BookeProtector of the Iliterate, Fully Professed Member of The Asylum of the Tortured Heart, The San Diego Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, student of Library and Information Science. Hear ye, hear ye! Verily, I say that you need not despair! Have you an internet connection or mobile data of some kind? If you do, then you have an entire universe of books, videos, music, and more available at your fingertips. Escape into a fantasy world, read that classic piece of literature you’ve been putting off, and laugh your ass off at some old Popeye cartoons. There is a valuable community resource that I would like to tell you about to help you pass the time while self-isolating. It's available to you now, wherever you are, and all you need is an internet connection. Archive.org : Not Just for Books, But It’s Also for Books The Internet Archive found at archive.org is a non-profit online archive and library that is free to use. There, you can find books, podcasts, music, videos, photos, movies, and more. This is a fantastic resource with materials ranging from the commonplace to the obscure. Many of the items are available with a single click. Other items, similar to physical items at a library, can be checked out after creating an account (5 minutes or less to create your account and verify your email address). Like a traditional lending library, the Internet Archive sometimes has waitlists for popular items, but do not fear! During this global pandemic the Internet Archive has created a National Emergency Library, eliminating all waitlists. Their millions of books are available to you right this very minute! If you need some suggestions to get you started, I have compiled recommendations for folx of all ages. If you’re not feeling like a book, you are still in luck! Check out the article 10 Ways To Explore the Internet Archive For Free to learn about some of the other rad ways you can use the Internet Archive. One of my personal favorites is the Wayback Machine, an archive of defunct Webpages (like those that make up the Website for Space Jam, the 1996 film). Take my recommendations or leave them, but I encourage you to explore the Internet Archive to your heart’s content. A Note on Problematic Materials Archive.org, though it is full of many contemporary materials, is also a historical archive. History is full of mostly white, male, cisgender, heteronormative, and capitalist perspectives. While browsing the collections on the Internet Archive, you may often encounter these types of views. In fact, these perspectives can be found in many libraries. I recommend that when you encounter these items, look at them for what they are: information resources. Information in and of itself is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. Individuals may use information (or misinformation) in malicious ways, but the information in and of itself is not inherently evil. These are stressful times and you have every right to pass on these offensive items. You may, however, feel empowered by studying these materials as a means of arming yourself against the oppressive and limited mindsets of some. As a liberated global citizen of the 21st century, I trust you to see these materials for what they are. Read them or pass on them, but do not let them interrupt the potential for JOY that resides within this fantastic community resource. Your Local Public Libraries Check out your public library’s Website! Many are currently offering temporary library cards so you can access their digital content right away. If you already have a library card and have not yet accessed them, now is the time to check out their digital offerings. See if they have a digital catalog of their special collections as you can find some fascinating items there. You may even be able to go see it in person (once it's safe to do so, of course). You can access The City of San Diego Public eLibrary here and their Digital Archive here. Nun-required Reading, |
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