Metro Weekly

Cherry Announces Grants

Circuit party organizers to distribute $30,000 to gay community groups

The Cherry Fund, the organization behind D.C.’s annual spring circuit party fundraiser, reported in early August that it would be distributing $30,000 to 12 beneficiaries for 2006. That’s an increase of about $10,000 from the 2005 distributions.

”We didn’t really set a goal” for this year’s events, said Paul Marengo, chair of the Cherry Fund. ”We just wanted to be able to give more than we had the previous year.”

Some changes for Cherry 2007 are in store, including moving the event from spring to summer. The organization is also considering reducing the number of events, which could help in the organization’s efforts to find enough sponsors to cover the cost of the entire slate of events.

”Then 100 percent of all tickets sales would go to the beneficiaries,” said Marengo.

The 2006 beneficiaries are: The Mautner Project for Lesbian Health, $8,000; Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, $8,000; Lambda Legal, $5,000; The D.C. Center-Home for GLBT in Metro D.C., $3,500; Youth Pride Alliance, $1,300; Washington Renegades Rugby Football Club, $1,000; Whitman-Walker Clinic, $1,000; Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore, $500; Delphi Foundation, $500; Delta Lambda Phi, $500; Camp Rehoboth, Inc., $350; and William Way Community Center, $350.

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