Divapalooza

“If we don’t offend you then you’re not paying attention.” That was the quote of the evening at the Divapalooza, an annual drag show benefiting Movable Feast, in Baltimore. 

Movable Feast is a nonprofit that makes meals for individuals who are stuck at home battling life threatening diseases including HIV, AIDS, breast cancer and other cancers. Many of them live in food deserts where they have limited access to quality food and are unable to afford nutritious choices. A poor diet results in a multitude of negative effects including lack of energy, a weakened immune system and vitamin deficiencies. By providing nutritious meals, Movable Feast gives people the freedom to focus on their healthy recovery. 

 My team worked there on a few occasions last year and it was such an inspiring operation. In their state of the art kitchen, they create thousands of meals on a daily basis which are then delivered all over Baltimore, the surrounding suburbs and the eastern shore. My AmeriCorps NCCC team worked alongside other volunteers from the community and the kitchen staff to make and package meals.

  This year, the support team leaders got to help them in a different capacity. The Divapalooza drag show raised over $110,000 in just two performances and every penny went directly to Movable Feast. Seven Team Leaders and four Corps Members helped with almost everything short of actually wearing heals and glitter. We parked cars, registered people for the auction and manned the doors. Once the show started we made our way up the the choir loft where we sat, mouthes agape as the nine queens and 3 kings of drag had the whole church filled with laughter and awkward chuckles. When they started singing one of our Green Team songs (Tristan's personal favorite) we nearly lost it. Our biggest task was clean up/ break down of the hall which we started as soon as the audience stumbled out of the room. The cast and crew sang our praises as we scrubbed toilets and cleaned glitter from every crevice of the room. It was almost 2:00 am when we finished and made an exhausted ride to our hotel in the Inner Harbor. Six hours later we were checked out and on the road back to Perry Point. One of my favorite parts of the experience was the chance to serve with the other support team leaders. We all get caught up in our individual roles at the office and rarely do anything as a complete group. In a way though, we are our own team. It's nice to act like one occasionally.

Check 'em out!

http://www.mfeast.org/