It’s a story all too familiar in the era of COVID-19. Blackstones — which opened 33 years ago in Portland, Maine, and is now the one remaining LGBTQ bar in the city — has been closed since March. And after eight long months, they’re asking for some help to stay in business.
A silver lining here is that since launching their online fundraiser with a goal of $25,000 to help them make it into April 2021, they’ve raised $22,648 as of this morning.
Here’s their message:
In the last four years of our 33 year history, the community has supported this bar to an incredible degree, and it has changed the very essence of what this space had been, and how we represent the community. And with that support, we have revitalized and renovated this space in astounding way, making it safer, cleaner and more welcoming than ever before. We have maintained & expanded on the bars history of being a community leader, championing causes and raising tens of thousands of dollars for charitable purposes. But the double edge of this sword was unpredictable. The incredible patronage you’ve shown us, and our constant and direct reinvestment of your support, has been so great that it has made us basically ineligible for outside financial support.
And, as we are about to enter the ninth month of self finance, we have come to the end of our means. The last month has shown that this Crisis is far from over. This space is in danger. We need to make sure we are financially stable through April 1st. We are asking our community for help to preserve this institution. We need finically support that will directly benefit our current and future-endured debt. We need to keep this business alive so we can reemploy a dozen amazing people, when deemed safe. We need to continue to offer a space for artists to perform in the future. We need to ensure that we can weather this crisis so we can continue to offer our space for charitable functions. We need to keep this safe space.
And today, that means we need you.
You can help them out by making a donation on their gofundme page … and paying them a visit at 6 Pine St, Portland, Maine, soon as their doors open for business again.
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