Tootie
C…Community
Thirty people laughing and talking over drinks and delicious food at Uptown Tavern doesn’t seem so remarkable. I’ve enjoyed good times with friends here before. But on this particular afternoon, back in their private room, a group is meeting to mingle and make toys and creature comforts for the Humane Society. The room is filled with friendly, good-looking animal lovers. Sounds good, right? It’s better than that, it’s Gays for Good (G4G)! 
I walk in, there’s a sign-in table, and an old friend of mine, Marian, who has enjoyed many a celebration at Lips, greets me with a warm hug and welcome. She makes me a name tag and spells my name right. Gay for Good has 16 chapters nationwide and a home base in LA, and San Diego’s G4G chapter opened in July 2010. Current chapter leader Barb Moreno signed up for its first event, a beach cleanup: “I was newly single and looking for a way to meet people and be social. I was seeking an alternative to the bars. I really enjoyed volunteering in the past, so when a friend told me about this new group … I signed up. It was just what I was looking for. Ten years later, it’s going strong. And so many of us have made lifelong friendships.”
G4G prides themselves on inclusivity. Even though it’s called “Gay for Good,” members are a reflection of the diversity and volunteerism of San Diego’s LGBTQIA community. Allies are celebrated and join in at events. And kids are also welcome. The group at Uptown Tavern is a cross section of the gay community, some who choose to volunteer once a month (sometimes there’s more opportunities on the monthly calendar), others who coordinate, and lead the G4G group. John tells me, “Barb and I met at the very first Gay for Good San Diego event at Pacific Beach; we were there for the cleanup. We became interested in the mission organization and then after two years of being regular volunteers, we were asked to step up to leadership. She and I have been leaders ever since. Robin and Doug joined us as leaders shortly thereafter and we’ve been running the organization since.”
Long-term friendships, community and good causes bring people out like Rich who says, “Shortly after I came out, I was looking to meet people, I didn’t have very many gay friends. I heard about G4G from a friend of mine who was in the LA chapter and said it was a really cool way to make friends while also doing good stuff. I stuck around ‘cause everybody’s super awesome and we’re doing cool stuff.” After hearing of all the “cool stuff” G4G has been into, including a camp/work trip on Catalina, and a horse rescue in East County, I want to get involved. Drag diva Kanani aka Katrina Duall, normally traveling with Royal Caribbean, volunteers when they are in town. Kanani’s most memorable event was Operation Courage Is Beautiful, where G4G volunteers put together care packages for military women. Kanani says, “You never think of what our female service members may need being deployed and so volunteering with this opportunity was a great way to create some bags of personal hygiene as well as makeup and beauty products to send to them. Coming from a military family, my husband is in the Navy, it was a great way to give back.” Barb says, “We rely on the community and our volunteers to help us find events. So many of us have connections throughout the region, it keeps events fresh. No idea is a bad idea. And we have some signature events that we do annually. We are always looking for help in organizing.” Kanani invited Jelicia to her first event today and she is working on a hanging toy for birds. Most volunteers here today were invited by someone else for their first time. A group of three women are busy putting together fleece pouches and hammocks for small mammals. One of them tells me, “Robin told us about this event, a way to volunteer to help the Humane Society and when she said we’d be helping rats…I was like, I am there! I like to keep my money here in the community and Uptown Tavern is letting us do this event.” To be clear, the rats being gifted with the handmade items are being fostered at the Humane Society where they are waiting for good, loving homes. Later that day, as the volunteers leave, everyone thanks them and acknowledges their donation of time and spirit, with wishes of seeing them back next month (which might be a firehouse beautification project with real, live, heroic firemen). Fortunately, there have only been a couple of times G4G didn’t hear back from a group needing their help. The feedback from previous work done has been positive and encouraging. Moreno says, “When we return to volunteer, we often will be pulled aside and told that we’re their favorite because we work so hard. One canyon cleanup was estimated to take four hours and we were done in one.”
Conversation creates a safe space on both sides for dialogue. Robin explains that G4G works for the community on many levels; outreach to the larger San Diego community, socializing within our own community and building friendships, and doing good works. She says, “We’re doing outreach to the larger community, obviously letting people who are not associated with LGBTQ+ on a regular basis, who may not come into contact with us, to get to know us.” Gay for Good strives to get the LGBTQ+ community outside of the gayborhood to show how much they, and we, all should care about all communities. Not everyone lives in Hillcrest. This opens a door safely to give back through community service. Barb Moreno says, “It’s the heart of our mission.”
Join in community service, for friendships and to help others. Learn more at https://www.gayforgood.org. Cool merchandise is available for donations; give to continue the giving …
