CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
The Walgreens drug store chain is the latest corporation to come under fire by an Illinois Christian group for sponsoring the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday. The Illinois Family Institute is angry that Walgreen Co. has made a $100,000 contribution to the Games, which are set for July. The group wants the company to take back its money--or face a boycott. "The Gay Games are about homosexuality, and I think it's wrong for Walgreens to sponsor it," Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, told the Tribune. "They've taken the step of becoming an official sponsor, which is putting the Walgreens name to endorsing this event." The institute has also attacked Harris Bank and Kraft Foods for each contributing $25,000 to the Games, according to the newspaper. However, Walgreens officials are not budging. Spokesman Michael Polzin told the Tribune that the company is taking part in the Games to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. The company's pharmacists have been serving HIV-positive patients since the early 1980s. "Each year we raise millions of dollars in our stores for research education and building awareness for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer," he told the newspaper. "This is one way of giving back to the community." More than 10,000 athletes are expected to compete in the Games before an estimated 100,000 spectators. Chicago Games Inc. has been scrambling to raise the $9 million needed to hold the event, the newspaper reported. Games officials say they are nearly halfway to their goal of raising $1 million from corporate sponsors. "They keep doing this, and corporate America keeps coming," Tracy Baim, co-vice chair of Chicago Games, told the newspaper. "When we meet with [potential] sponsors, we are very up-front with being targeted by the IFI. It brings a higher visibility to the discrimination we face." (Chad Graham, Advocate.com)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM