The fundraiser is scheduled for Nov. 13 in San Francisco's North Beach area and will receive a donation of ten percent of the day's proceeds from club owners like Flynt, Broadway Showgirls Cabaret, Centerfolds, New Century Theater, Market St. Cinema, the Hungry I, Crazy Horse and the Gold Club.
Sex.com owner Gary Kremen has donated $5,000 to the cause, an event spokesperson told XBiz.
According to Kimberly Hathaway, of Hathaway Public Relations, dancers will not be required to make donations and the bulk of the proceeds will come from door fees and alcohol sales.
The fundraising goal for Erotic Health Day is $80,000, which is intended to match the current deficit the clinic is experiencing and avoid any drastic budgetary cuts, staff layoffs or a compromise in health care services.
“We are afraid that if we don’t make up our shortfall we might have to cut staffing and/or services,” Teri Goodson, development director for St. James said. “There is a misconception that we are primarily an STD clinic. The truth is that we provide primary care just like any other clinic or medical facility.”
The brainchild of Terrance Alan, the commissioner of the San Francisco Late Night Coalition – which oversees all regulations on adult clubs in San Francisco – the event was immediately endorsed by Joe Carouba, president of BSC Management, the management arm for more than a dozen gentlemen's clubs.
"Obviously, because of their reach in San Francisco, they could bring a fair amount of money to the table," Hathaway told XBiz.
A minimum donation of $10,000 is expected from BSC-managed clubs.
Similar to the AIM Healthcare Foundation, the St. James Infirmary provides care to sex workers seeking "non-judgmental" comprehensive medical and social services. The infirmary claims to be one of the only primary care clinics in the country devoted to providing care for low-wage, uninsured adult workers.
City Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Chris Daly have also introduced a proclamation to make Nov. 13 the official “St. James Infirmary Health Day." The two supervisors will hold a press conference on Nov. 12 to introduce the proposed proclamation to the media.
The St. James Infirmary was founded in 1999 by COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), the organization of Margo St. James, an advocate for sex workers who has strived since the 1970s to repeal prostitution laws and end the stigma associated with sexual work.
The St. James Infirmary is also supported by the Exotic Dancers Alliance and the San Francisco Department of Health.
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