be generous, get involved

Dear Friends,

I am so excited and I want to share my excitement with you. I am very close, so very close, to the start of a new venture that is bigger than anything I have done before.

You may have heard of it before--over the past year, I have mentioned or hinted about it several times. Many of you have been waiting for it with great anticipation.


I AM IN THE FINAL STAGES OF OPENING A LONG-TERM, PAN-SEXUAL, SEX-POSITIVE VENUE IN THE CITY!


The venue is completely dedicated to this endeavor and is not shared with any other organization or venture. It has a private entrance. There are showers, lockers, a sound system, a theater, a social lounge, and large play rooms both private and open. Its location is excellent: on a major bus route, near a Skytrain station, and readily accessible from Highway 1. There is lots of free parking on site.

Almost all the preparatory work--the search, the negotiations, the paperwork--has already been completed. All that's needed now to seal the deal for this wonderful venue is the money for first and last months' rent deposits; licensing, insurance, and administration fees; renovations and equipment; and business name provincial registration, Internet domain name registration, and website creation. I hope to throw open the doors in just a couple of months from now.

I am incredibly thrilled because this space will give me and Libido Events the room and the freedom to host a range and variety of regularly-scheduled sex-positive events, far beyond what we have been able to do so far.

What events? For a start, all the same events that Libido Events has held before. Pansexual play parties, women-only play parties, bondage events, and all of the Erotic Arts Curriculum classes.

Now think beyond that. Think of a rental space for individuals and groups. A classroom for outside sex educators to teach in. A meeting space for support groups. A gallery for erotic art exhibitions. A room for clothing-optional yoga. A studio for erotic photography or life drawing. And more. (What have you longed for? What have you hoped or wished for? What can you imagine?)

In addition, the venue will house the Libido Events offices--my personal office and coaching space and the planned Libido Events Sex-Positive Lending Library.



As I mentioned earlier, opening this venue is bigger than anything I have ever done before. But it is a natural next step up from the sex education and activism I have been doing for the past ten years. In that time, a great majority of you have repeatedly offered your help to me in support of my activism and community involvement. You have offered to pitch in, lend a hand, and help do what needs to be done. You have donated time, energy, equipment, and supplies. And I have been happy and grateful to accept many of those offers of help. And I want to thank each of you for supporting me over those years. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

As I also mentioned earlier, what is needed now to seal the deal for this space are the payments for deposits, fees, renovations, and equipment. But this last step is larger than I can take on my own. The first and last months' rent deposits come to $6000. For the licensing, insurance, and administration fees, $1000. Renovations and equipment are another $1000 ($500 for construction materials for play equipment: lumber, screws, bolts, chains; $300 for renovation supplies: lighting, flooring, cleaning products; and $200 for paint--Burning Passion Red--for 9 rooms). And finally, the business registration of the name with the province, Internet domain name registration (for web URL and email), and website creation will cost $500. And the payments have to be made very soon, before the middle of May.

Can you help me? I need to raise $8500 in two weeks to secure the space. I have an agreement at this time with the landlord that can not be drawn out over an extended period of time, and certainly not forever. If I can not make the payments, I will have to give up the venue (it's not reasonable to expect the landlord to hold the space for me indefinitely) and everything else that comes with it, from the good location to the event plans to the rental space (which I have already made a commitment to provide to other educators and groups). I will have to start all over again looking for somewhere else. Though I have leads, finding something spacious enough, yet still affordable and accessible will be a challenge. **This current space is ideal.**



My planned opening date is June 1, 2007, with all funds raised. My request of you, to help me reach the $8500 I need: consider how your generosity at this time could help get this venue for all of us to enjoy.

1. A Gift.
Gift me with a donation. Any amount of money, even just $5 or $10, that you are able to donate will help. All donations will be received with gratitude; however, I am offering recognition for larger donations--see a little way below.

2. A Credit.
Buy an Annual Membership for $25. Or buy advance credit to 4-5 Libido Events. Or book advance Private Coaching time with me, as an individual or as a couple, even if you haven't decided on a coaching topic or whether it will be a sit-down conversational or hands-on instructional session.

3. A Loan.
Extend me a loan, anything up to the full $8500 needed. Money is needed urgently now, and I will repay you in full as soon as possible. My preference is for a no-interest loan. However, I am open to negotiating any form of repayment that is workable. (Yes, I fully realize that this could make for interesting negotiations.)

Please email me, jennifer@libidoevents.com with the amount of your contribution and I’ll send you relevant banking and mailing information. You can also send a cheque, made out to Jennifer Skrukwa, to my mailing address:

PO Box 28578,
4050 Hastings Street,
Burnaby, BC,
V5C 6J4



I can not say it enough: any amount you can contribute will help and will be received gratefully and will be put to good use. $10 will pay for 1 day of insurance coverage. $100 will cover 1 day's rent.

For a donation of $500 or more, I would like to recognize your generosity (with your agreement) with your name or business on a plaque on a room as the benefactor.

If you are able to give $1000 or more, I would like to show my appreciation by making you a Benefactor Lifetime Member. This is something I am offering this one time only, pre-opening. Excellent bang for your buck, when you consider that Annual Membership is going to be $25 year plus per-event fees for parties, classes, or other events. For $1000 one-time, you get it all, forever.

Donating can take many forms, and I understand that not everyone is willing or able to contribute money right now. I am happy to accept your help in lots of other ways. If--or shall I dare to say when--the new venue is secured, there will be lots of opportunity for volunteers to paint, move furniture, build equipment, decorate rooms, and for donations of towels, bedding, and other supplies. But the immediate need is the money to get the venue in the first place.



Regardless of whether I manage to raise enough money over the next two weeks, the following remains true:

During the past ten years, I have been blessed with the privilege of guiding and sharing with so many of you in your journeys into sex-positive culture. When you asked questions in email, I happily answered them. When you came to classes, I taught you new sex tips and techniques. When you phoned me or cornered me at events, I have supported and advised you. When you came to play parties, I helped expand your sexual horizons. When you booked a private coaching session, I have worked together with you. If your relationship needed a spark, if you needed help with something new, or you simply needed a reminder that you were not alone in your sexual journey, you only had to open a Libido Events mail-out to find access to answers.

I will continue to do all these things with or without a space of my own. But I will be able to do so much more with a long-term, stable venue. Thank you for considering contributing to it. Below is a contribution form you can fill in and use.


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Dear Jennifer,

I would like to contribute to getting your new venue opened in the following way(s):

[ ] A Gift:
[ ] $10 (1 day's insurance)
[ ] $50
[ ] $100 (1 day's rent)
[ ] $500 (Benefactor Plaque of Appreciation)
[ ] $1000 (Benefactor Lifetime Membership)
[ ] $2000
[ ] $4000
[ ] $8000
[ ] $____

[ ] A Credit:
[ ] $25 (1 Annual Membership)
[ ] $100 (2 Annual Memberships & 2 event credits)
[ ] $350 (2 Annual Memberships & 3 hours Private Coaching)
[ ] $1000 (Benefactor Lifetime Membership)
[ ] $____

[ ] A Loan:
[ ] $500
[ ] $1000
[ ] $2000
[ ] $4000
[ ] $8000
[ ] $____

Terms:
[ ] No-interest loan (preferred)
[ ] Other (describe your offer):

[ ] Please send me banking and mailing information. My email address (if not the same as my From or Reply-To address) is ______________________________.

[ ] I am sending a cheque, made out to Jennifer Skrukwa, to your mailing address: PO Box 28578, 4050 Hastings Street, Burnaby, BC, V5C 6J4.

(Anything else you want to write, a message of hope):


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(Email responses to jennifer@libidoevents.com
For reading convenience, when replying, please include only the part between the lines rather than the entire text of this email.)


blessings,
Jennifer
sex-educator & activist

p.s. Remember, time is of the essence. Just over two weeks remain before the deadline (Friday May 11) to raise the $8500 needed to clinch the space. If you're able and willing to help, the time is now--don't delay. I hope we will all be able to get this ideal venue, for its great location and facilities, and the future events planned for the space, as described at the start of this email.


"Vancouver's Sex-Positive Resource, Libido Events is a production company which teaches sex education classes, hosts educational, social, and play-based adult events, and promotes other events celebrating alternative sexuality in our culture."