Donate for a Date: Her Destination Unknown Hosts Annual AIDS Charity Auction

By Yvonne Marquez

Her Destination Unknown (HDU), a Houston-based queer women’s social club, is gearing up for their 8th annual AIDS charity auction on February 25 at Pearl Bar. The benefit will showcase 10 eligible queer ladies, who will donate their time in the form of a date to the highest bidder, with all proceeds going to a local LGBTQ organization that is walking in AIDS Walk Houston. “People can expect to be surprised, entertained, and to have a ton of fun,” Her Destination Unknown founder Margarita Perez says of the auction. “I hope, by the end of the night, they connect with somebody they didn’t know and they feel they are part of something bigger.”

At its core, HDU is centered on creating meaningful relationships between queer women in Houston. Since the organization first started in 2009, Perez—along with six other women—craved a space for lesbians to meet and create community, especially with the closing of lesbian bar Chances. So, they built their own. “It was a social experiment, and then it turned into this social networking group where we would go out as a community and explore Houston and let Houston explore our community,” Perez explains. “We’re slowly changing the idea and perception that lesbians only hang out in certain places, or lesbians look a certain way, or lesbians have a certain wealth capacity, and changing how that all looked and redefining that as a group.”

The group meets every second Wednesday of the month and still operates by word of mouth. The women pick a place to meet up, then send a text message through their listserv with the information.

Over the years, the frequency of socials have changed and people have come and gone. However, the charity auction has always been a cornerstone of the organization.

The idea for a charity auction began with the goal of raising $1,000 for AIDS Walk Houston, but they significantly surpassed their goal by raising $4,000 at the first charity event, then doubling it the following year with $8,000. Perez reports that they have consistently raised more than $10,000 each year since and this year, they hope to surpass their accumulated goal of $100,000.

This year’s benefiting agencies are The T.R.U.T.H. Project, The UH LGBTQ Resource Center, and Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church. During the charity auction, each HIV– and AIDS–serving organization will compete in a winner-take-all voting competition. With every donation made, no matter the amount, attendees are able to vote for the organization of their choice. At the end of the night, the organization with the most votes takes all of the proceeds from the charity auction—an amount that can go a long way for a smaller organization. “It acts as seed money for their programming and services and really allows them to expand some of those programs,” Perez says. “I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, it makes me feel like I have had a greater impact for those organizations.”

The date auction kicks off with each eligible queer woman entering the stage to a song of their choosing. Perez says each year the women surprise her with really intricate dance routines or hula hooping. In the past, each date has raised between $250 to $3,000. Donors and the aucitionees then attend a group date together a couple weeks later. This year, they’ll be attending a Rockets game. “Everyone’s there to have fun and the date becomes a nice little thank you opportunity for the people who are able to make it,” Perez says.

What: 2018 Her Destination Unknown AIDS Charity Auction
When: February 25, 2-8 p.m.
Where: Pearl Bar, 4216 Washington Ave, Houston, TX
Details: facebook.com/events/727457570796607