RE: Lazy Bear Week 2020

We want a few minutes of your time to give you updates on our plans for this year, plus share some exciting news and information for our guests undergoing hardships who want to know about a refund on their donations.

We are living in uncertain times and because of that uncertainty we are unable to plan our main event, Lazy Bear Week 2020. It is our primary fundraising event, but it is just not safe right now. It’s just not safe to encourage large crowds in dance halls or at pool parties. As much as we want to see and hug each other again, we just can’t right now.

Maybe by late July or early August, it will be safe to visit the Russian River. Maybe public health officials where you live will say it is safe to travel again, and maybe Sonoma County public health officials will say it’s safe to come and enjoy a vacation. We are all going to need a vacation when the time is right! But, we can’t plan an event for 3,000 people with a bunch of maybes.

Rest assured, just because Lazy Bear Week 2020 can’t happen this year, we are not giving up. We are already looking forward to Lazy Bear Week 2021 and we intend to make it a great one!

Now for the exciting news! Just as we did during the floods and fires in the last few years, we are again focusing our Lazy Bear Fund efforts and operations on our Lazy Bear Cares campaign. Although we are experiencing hard times right now, there are many people in the world who are experiencing problems much tougher than our own.

We are proud to announce the following activities:

• We intend to raise funds for MPact Global Action, a network that promotes gay men’s health and rights in troubled places in the Middle East, Africa, and other countries in the Global South. They provide vital information to already fragile communities living in hostile places. They also provide access to life-saving HIV medications in places where the very possession of those medications is a crime.

• We plan to make a generous donation to TurnOut, a non-profit whose mission is to maximize the power of volunteerism to strengthen LGBTQ+ communities and prioritize vulnerable members of the Bay Area LGBT+ community. Communities that are at increased risk from COVID-19 and face discrimination from mainstream support services and volunteers.

• We also plan to make a generous donation to West County Community Services, which works so hard to help people experiencing hard times in our “Lazy Bear” home town of Guerneville. West County Community Services provides family crisis support, grants to help with rent, utilities and similar needs during this critical time.

• Residents are without jobs because they work in service industries that have been completely shut down during the pandemic. This week we received approval on a grant from Sonoma County that will enable us to provide meals options for 2,000 hungry people in the Russian River area.

If you’re wondering about the money you spent on Lazy Bear Week 2020 bear tags, we are offering the following options. Please keep in mind that since Lazy Bear Fund is a nonprofit organization, your tag purchase(s) are categorized as donations.

Option 1: Submit a request for a refund for your bear tags (donation) via the button below.
(NOTE: OPTION 1 EXPIRED ON JUNE 3, 2020 as specified below.)

Or Option 2: Do nothing, and we will, as always, direct your original tag purchase funds (donation) toward the causes mentioned above to help make the world a better place. 

If you choose Option 1, your request has to be submitted before June 3rd, 2020 or the donations will be designated as specified in Option 2.

We understand that times are tough for many, and we hope you consider donating whatever you can spare. If you find yourself in the position of wanting to help more, please make a donation via this link:

Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,
David Barker, President
John Jacob, Vice President
Steve Adams, Treasurer
Trey Sheldon, Secretary
Fred Bothe, Director