Skimpy charity - Topless club fundraiser

Published on June 15, 2000

Charity became controversial when topless dancers held a fundraiser, the Dallas Morning News reported on June 14. When dancers from Dallas topless club The Lodge held a bake sale – in skimpy bikinis – they raised nearly $13,000 in one day for the North Texas Junior Wheelchair Sports Association. Some Dallas residents believe that charity can’t compensate for the clubs’ sordid nature. "They think if we call them ‘gentlemen’s clubs’ and see them doing good works in the community, we don’t have to be afraid of these places and what they do," Henry Rogers, board president of the Dallas Association for Decency, told the Morning Times. "But what they’re really doing is ruining people and destroying families." Club owners say they don’t care if some question their charity motives. "I grew up doing volunteer work," said Dawn Rizos, who owns The Lodge with her husband. "I was a Candy Striper. It’s part of what I learned as a kid, and I think it’s important." For full text, go to the Dallas Morning News.

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