The holidays are indeed a time of giving. In the truest spirit of the season San Diego’s leather community is joining forces with local businesses to make sure the Something Special Food Pantry is fully stocked so that no one goes hungry during the holidays with a “Help Feed our Family” fundraiser and benefit. It has been a rough year for the pantry, with low turnout at recent food drives and the strikes cutting off the supply lines for their major sources of food, but with a little help the shelves will be filled again.

“We got an e-mail that said the food pantry was completely out of food,” Gary Libak told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “We’ve all been traveling throughout the United States for the different competitions and I said last week we need to do something for these people. We can’t do it for Thanksgiving, but maybe we can do something to make a difference for Christmas.”

Something Special has survived for over 10 years as an all-volunteer organization by holding food drives. For the first time ever they had to close the doors this year because they had run out of food. Unlike other HIV and AIDS agencies like Mama’s Kitchen or The Center, Something Special is funded completely through private funds. Board members have been chipping in the money needed to pay for rent and utilities at their current facility.

Knowing that they were facing difficult times, Libak contacted Something Special to see what could be done, and the pantry was eager to work with the leather community on the food drive.

“I know they only collect food at the grocery store entrances,” Libak added. “I said we’d put something bigger together, so we got a whole bunch of people who are working to get boxes out to all the different businesses around the area that can be drop sites or collection sites.”

In less than a week, Libak and members of San Diego’s leather community were able to sign 17 businesses on as collection sites for a canned food drive for the pantry. In addition to collecting non-perishable items, tax-deductible cash donations can also be made to the pantry at any of the drop off locations.

The food drive will be held from Dec. 1 through 12, culminating with a benefit at Wolfs on Friday, Dec. 12, at 8:00 p.m.

“Gary contacted me and asked me if we wanted to host a fundraiser for Something Special,” said Chuck Ferrante, the new manager of Wolfs. “I worked at Montage for six years and they’re always giving back to the community and I know Something Special is a good organization, so I thought it would be nice to help them out.”

Entertainment for the evening will include Lady Ajax and Gary L., with performances by Eddie Green and his Puppet Divas, along with a some demonstrations, fantasies, photos, raffles and door prizes.

“We just think it’s important to pull the whole community together,” Libak said. “Not just the leather community or the bears, but everybody, because a lot of the people in our specific groups, we are all affected by HIV and the ones that are out working need to help the ones that can’t work.”

For information or to sign up as a drop off location, contact Gary Libak at (619) 281-6234 or International Leather Sir 2003 Mike Russell at (619) 820-1165.

San Diego Eagle

PECS

Wolfs Bar

Numbers

The Hole

Kickers

Storm International Florist

Babette Schwartz

Rainbow Road

Priority Pharmacy

Stat Pharmacy

Ringold Alley

MacLeo Leather

Martini’s Bar

The Lumberjack Grille

The Otherside Coffee Shop

Brians’ Eatery