For thirty-eight years Philadelphians MC, Philadelphia’s longest-running gay leather club, has always made fundraising for local and national charities a priority. Since 1974 the club has raised over $55,000 for non-profits in the Philadelphia area and beyond.
In 2012 the club decided to focus their efforts on one special project, a unique endeavor that was affectionately code named Operation Tea Room.
The William Way Community Center is open seven days a week and is used by over 2,500 members of Philadelphia’s LGBT community every month. The building is architecturally spectacular, with more of it being improved and refurbished each year.
To support the ongoing restoration of the building, Philadelphians MC decided to sponsor the renovation of a restroom, after which it was to be re-christened and known forever after as The Philadelphians MC Restroom.
This restroom, located in the side stairwell near the ballroom, had definitely seen better days. It desperately needed a facelift. The club met with the center’s Executive Director, Chris Bartlett, to pitch the idea of Operation Tea Room.
Mr. Bartlett was very excited and somewhat amused about the project, while members of the club were thrilled to help insure that future LGBT generations will always have a warm and safe place to go to the bathroom.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Philadelphians MC held numerous fundraisers to reach the goal of fully funding this historic renovation. The first event was a fetish gear dance party on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at the Bike Stop. The second event was the club’s Kinky Karnival on Saturday, April 14.
The club pledged to raise $2500 to fund these renovations. When the final tally was done, over $3300 was raised and donated to the center. Be sure to stop by and check out the restroom the next time you feel the urge to pee.
The members of Philadelphians MC thank everyone who attended these events and helped make Operation Tea Room such a huge success, because as we all learned …
We can’t spell FLUSH without U.
