Burgundy Crescent Volunteers founder Jonathan Blumenthal (center) works with Ned Reed (left) and Sandi Nunn at Food & Friends, one of the many organizations the group has volunteered with. (courtesy of Burgundy Crescent Volunteers)

by Kara Fox

Some call it a great way to volunteer, others say it is a good way to get to know gays in the area, and still others call it "the epitome of the gay community."

Most contend it is just plain fun.

So, is this a night at Reel Affirmations? An afternoon cooking at Food & Friends? Or is it the Mautner Project’s annual gala? It’s all of the above, thanks to a new organization that has found a way to combine socializing with volunteering for gay men and lesbians in the area.

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, which formed in February of this year, has a twofold mission. "First, we are a source of volunteers for local and national gay and gay-friendly community organizations in the Washington, D.C. area," states the BCV Web site. "Second, we are a social organization that brings gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender singles and couples together for volunteer activities that are social in nature."

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, or BCV as organizers call it, is the brainchild of Jonathan Blumenthal, Eric Cohen and Angela Hunt. The three met over three years ago through a volunteering organization, Gay, Lesbian, and Other Volunteer Singles, which has since dissolved. When Blumenthal and Cohen began dating, they could no longer be part of the organization.

Blumenthal and Cohen still wanted to volunteer with other gays in a social atmosphere, but the only similar organizations were for heterosexuals. When GLOVES folded, the couple and Hunt began talking about starting their own group that would include all gays, coupled or single. The first challenge was to come up with a name that would be recognizable, inclusive, and specific to the gay community.

"Eric and I were playing around with a combination of G’s, V’s, and L’s -- but they all sounded hokey or were used before," Blumenthal said. "Initially [Burgundy Crescent Volunteers] was intended as a working name. But it stuck. It is ambiguous and people talk about it. It doesn’t have any meaning. It is what it is -- it is unusual."

Blumenthal then went to the Internet to begin his quest for volunteers.

"I figured, ‘All we need is a Web site, an e-mail address and a few contacts,’" Blumenthal said, noting that he began by contacting other organizations. "We started with PFLAG and Food & Friends, and got a free Web site and started the organization."

BCV began with the three organizers volunteering at a PFLAG event and has since grown to more than 270 members clocking an excess of 3,000 volunteer hours since the group’s inception. Blumenthal said about one person a day becomes a member through the Web site.

Becoming a member, he said, is easy; those interested just send an e-mail expressing their interest. There are no membership fees or obligations. Blumenthal sets up all the organizing details; all a volunteer has to do is pick an event that sounds interesting and show up.

"It is a way for people to socialize, but they are doing something without an awkward bar setting," Blumenthal said. "We do everything from stuffing envelopes, chopping veggies, and ushering. We provide volunteers a chance to volunteer and socialize. And it’s a way to test drive some organizations. … It’s one-stop-shopping for volunteering. You know that it is going to be a cool group of people and you know that everyone is going to have a good time."

No hard rules

Blumenthal said when BCV began, the goal was to have four volunteer activities a month, "but sometimes we have that many a week." The number of activities the group participates in each month ranges from five to 14 a month, and Blumenthal said nearly all the activities fill up. The activities range from monthly visits to the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, the Mary-Helen Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer and Food & Friends, to one-time visits to volunteer at a PBS pledge drive and a Goodwill Tour at the Indonesian Embassy. Blumenthal said the group’s criteria for choosing an activity to participate in is that it has to be "fun, safe, and social."

"We try to stay away from things like phone banking," he said. "We help gay and gay-friendly organizations. None of the rules are hard and strict. As long as the organization knows we’re gay and wants our help and hasn’t been anti-gay, we help them out. … We’ve helped most of the major gay organizations."

Blumenthal updates the BCV Web site regularly, posting all past and current volunteering events, complete with member reviews of certain activities. Members receive an e-mail every week describing current activities and reminder e-mails for the activities they agreed to participate in.

Blumenthal said he takes it one step further by providing volunteer coordinators to attend each activity. Volunteer coordinators make sure that everyone who is supposed to be at an activity is there and then make sure everyone is comfortable and meets others. The coordinator also provides color-coded name tags for all volunteers -- green is for those who are single/available, blue is taken/unavailable, and any other color means the person wants to remain ambiguous.

Win-win situation

Cohen, who developed the color-coded nametags, said he believes BCV provides an easy setting for people to get to know one another.

"A lot of members feel comfortable meeting people at our activities," Cohen said. "At a bar, you talk to people or do nothing. At our activities you are already engrossed in something. BCV is supposed to engage people. We really try to lower the barriers of socializing."

Members agree, saying they volunteer time after time because the atmosphere the organization provides is inviting and there is diversity within the organization.

"It really expands your social circle -- no doubt about it," said Jim Delloso, 33, a member from Washington who has been involved with the group for six months. "You never know who you are going to meet, but you know you are going to meet someone [different every time.]. It’s a win-win situation."

Nathan Bell, 31, of Washington, said he joined in April because he "always wanted to volunteer and I was single and wanted to meet someone and it was a great way to combine all of those." He said the experience has "exceeded all my expectations."

Jennifer Berger, 31, of Chevy Chase, Md., is a public interest attorney and joined BCV a few months ago because she wanted to meet like-minded people.

"I meet someone different each time," Berger said. "I am very selective with my time. I can’t devote my time to something I don’t believe in. I particularly like working with the Mautner Project because it is a cause I am interested in."

Nikki DiPalma, 38, of Bowie, Md., and her partner, joined because they were looking for a volunteer opportunity and they wanted to get involved in the gay community.

"It is always good to give back to the community," DiPalma said, noting that her favorite activity is Food & Friends. "We meet people while helping others."

Reliable and fabulous

The organizations that BCV helps say the energy and commitment of the volunteers makes a difference.

"If someone were to ask me what group epitomizes the gay community, it would have to be Burgundy Crescent Volunteers," said Kathleen DeBold, executive director of the Mautner Project. "They get the job done and they make a difference. We love them -- they rock."

Keith Miller, Food & Friends volunteer services supervisor, said that BCV is "the ideal volunteer group."

"They know what they are doing and are ready to roll when they walk through the door," he said. "They can set the tone because of the attitude and spirit they bring. … They are meticulous in what they do. They know the task and they do it. It speaks to their consistency."

Both DeBold and Miller said they have called on BCV at the last minute to help out and they have shown up.

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers founder Eric Cohen dressed up in a cigarette costume as part of a volunteer event for the Mautner Project for Lesbians With Cancer. (courtesy of Burgundy Crescent Volunteers)

"They came over for Thanksgiving -- it made a difference for us," Miller added. "In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving they were able to come in and give our chefs a boost."

Jill Strachan, general manager for the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Washington, D.C., said BCV is more reliable than other volunteers she has used in the past.

"They are efficient and reliable and fabulous. It is such a credit to their organization," Strachan said. "We think of them as angels of a sort."

Strachan said the structure of BCV makes it easier for organizations to call on them.

"There is a system that you can plug into and they are held accountable. You don’t have to train 10 people -- you can tell one person and it makes it easier. They are great with people. I have been very impressed," she said. "Their structure is set up like a community. It makes it professional, but not less fun. It’s a great role model for people who want to get involved in the community."

Julie Dixon, operations director for Reel Affirmations, said she has come to depend on BCV.

"They’re unique in the fact that there are a large pool of volunteers. They have such a large base. All the volunteers I worked with have been professional," Dixon said. "If I had my own private nonprofit organization, they would be the first organization I would contact."

Committed leaders

Some organizations say having all gay volunteers make a difference because they are more attuned to certain issues than other volunteers.

"The volunteers who have come seem to be more aware of what the NAMES Project is," said Jason Johnston, newsletter editor for the NAMES Project, the group that developed the AIDS Quilt. "They are more attuned to what we are."

Some not only use BCV for their events, but participate in the organization as well. Patrick Bruyere, 46, of Arlington, Va., has used BCV for events at Whitman-Walker Clinic and the American Red Cross, and has also volunteered for the organization.

"I think one of the undiscovered things in our community is how giving we are," Bruyere said. "When you get cued in to BCV, [you realize] they contribute to so many organizations. It is really quiet amazing how many hours they’ve logged with only a couple hundred volunteers."

Both members and organizations marvel at the time Blumenthal, Cohen, and Hunt put into the organization while still managing their full-time careers.

"We are all amazed at the time [Blumenthal] puts through," Bell said.

Delloso said the group has exceeded his expectations because of the organizers’ work.

"There is no fund-raising. It is a self-sufficient organization," he said. "Jon commits so much time to the organization."

Although BCV gives to so many organizations, the group also takes time to socialize without volunteering. They have had two social hours at local restaurants, and are currently planning a one-year anniversary party, March 2 at Mimi’s American Bistro in Dupont Circle.

Blumenthal said he is pleased the group has grown so quickly in one year and attributes it to the simple nature of the organization.

INFO

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers www.burgundycrescent.org jonathan@burgundycrescent.org

"We try to keep it with ‘KISS [Keep It Simple, Stupid]’. We’ve got a nice model that works," Blumenthal said. "We don’t want to get too big or complicated. It seems like a great success. Our goal is to make sure the people who run it don’t get burned out."

Hunt believes the organization has been successful because of its unique mission.

"We are the only gay volunteer organization for gays and by gays. We are a consolidation of all the groups -- we are a clearinghouse," Hunt said. "Our No. 1 goal is that we help people, we’re for the volunteers to make sure they have fun. We’re all about socializing in a socially conscious fashion."

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This article appeared in the issue of:
December 21, 2001