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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2000)
___ march 3.2000 » 4M mews Giving ELPING organization Esther’s Pantry board member Derrick LePak has got the goods will continue good works ( believe, here at M CC, % / that the work that 1 ) / Esthers Pantry has been i "v. i doing for so many years is such a vital work that the community can’t allow it to go by the wayside,” says the Rev. Roy Cole, pastor of the Metropol itan Community Church of Portland, which took over responsibility for the longtime non profit on March 1. Esther’s Pantry, a community mainstay, pro vides groceries to those living with AIDS. It is named after Esther Hoffman Howard, the 24th empress of Portland’s Imperial Rose Court. Esther, a k a Chester Brinker, was a popular and charismatic figure when he died of AIDS- related complications in 1984— a time when the A ID S crisis was beginning to take its toll. The night Brinker died, Portland bar J.R .’s West held a drag show and raised more than $900 to help his parents with medical bills. But his parents didn’t accept the money for their own use; instead, they returned the dollars to the community. Brinker’s mother reportedly said it was her son’s wish that others with A ID S receive finan cial help. Thus, out of this wish sprouted the Brinker Fund, which became a trust of Cascade AIDS Project in 1986 and helped people living with A ID S pay rent and utilities. As the Brinker Fund board members visited clients, they quickly realized that, in addition to housing-related support, many needed food. Hence the establishment of Esther’s Pantry. (The gay and lesbian Catholic group known as Dignity jump-started the pantry with a success ful food drive in 1986. It wasn’t long before the pantry became a main focus of the trust.) In 1991, Esther’s Pantry received nonprofit v by P at Young ; y < **» é» * M & r ’4 ' 7-~v L é * , ? iri. T \ status with the state of Oregon. A t first, the pantry was located in a board member’s garage. But as the A ID S crisis grew, so did the need for more food and storage space. Fortunately, the Old Town gay bar Embers Avenue came to the rescue by donating space in its basement. From there, Esther’s Pantry moved a few times until it landed at its current location at 310 N.W. Broadway. And now it is getting ready to shift to 2761 N.E. Halsey St.— a move that will save $4,600 a year in rent. When Cole heard talk that Esther’s Pantry was closing due to administrative burnout, he offered to speak with the pantry’s board to see if M C C could run the organization. After several discussions, he says, an agree ment was reached allowing M C C to do just that. M C C has a congregation of almost 300 members, and Cole says many of them are look ing for ways to help the community. Esther’s Pantry may be just the good-works ticket. The board members of Esther’s Pantry and many clients are conterà with the change, but some people have expressed concerns. “They think Roy is going to be preaching a sermon when they come to get their food,” explains Derrick LePak, an Esther’s Pantry board member. “That will definitely not happen,” stresses Cole. “There won’t be any religious overtones. Esther’s Pantry is not a vehicle to be used to coerce other people into becoming part of this church.” Cole says M C C ’s immediate goals include ensuring the transition happens smoothly and without an interruption of pantry services, maintaining the pantry’s funding streams, and attracting volunteers. A t Esther’s Pantry, meanwhile, LePak and others are getting ready for the move. LePak is the main man. He doesn’t have an official title, but everyone knows he keeps things running, and people go to him with their questions and concerns. After starting out as a client in the early 1990s, LePak grew more involved with the orga nization and evolved into this overseer role. Among other things, he picks up the groceries and interviews potential clients. Currently the pantry has about 170 clients. Most are gay men, hut there are also straight folks, women and children. It’s the kids who have really touched LePak’s heart. They’ve drawn pictures for him, which he proudly dis plays on the file cabinet by his desk. Over the years, LePak has seen happy moments, but mainly sad times, as so many clients have passed away. He talks of the more upbeat occasions when various organizations raised money for the pantry, especially the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court. He says one year the court raised more than $8,000. The court, gay bars, Rosetown Ramblers and others have raised money and collected food via dances, bingo, haircuts and shoeshines, roller-skating, and bowling. Then there are the people who clip coupons from the newspaper and drop off extra items at the pantry. “There is actually a full community— a city community out there instead of this little one that is HIV/AIDS-positive that keeps things going,” LePak says of the various contributors. “It’s not one big thing, it’s a whole bunch of lit tle things.” ■ ESTHER’S P antry will keep the same hours: 5 to 7 p m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The last day at the downtown location is Thursday, March 30; the first day at the new address is Thursday, April 6. P at Y oung is a Portland-based free-lance writer and gay and lesbian historian. A smart financial plan begins with just 7 numbers: 2 3 8 -6 0 3 6 ORIGINAL — SPICEDRUM Eric Brown District Manager 500 NE Multnomah Portland, OR 97232 503/238-6036 Captain Morgan is one of the fine products distributed by Seagram Americas. WADDELL REED Seagram is the only U.S. spirits producer that provides domestic partner benefits. 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