Inspired by the Met, ‘Sleeping Baddies’ tackle medical debt at a date gala pajama party

The accessories were not designer. But these cozy, low-budget pieces came to the fore at the Second Date Gala on Sunday, where about 200 pajama-clad revelers dressed up for its “Sleeping Baddies” theme to raise money for medical bill relief. Held in Brooklyn the night before the Met Gala, the populist benefit’s thrifty getups and raunchy comedy routines marked a far cry from its glitzy, star-studded inspiration that raises millions of dollars annually for the famous art museum’s costume department.

It is one of several alternative festivals that have emerged recently across the city with the hope of democratizing the spectacle of a special springtime fundraiser and leveraging its fanfare to highlight other causes. The Brooklyn Public Library revived its People’s Ball in 2022 as an inclusive declaration of the existence of fashion among “everyday New Yorkers.”

“Why should this amazing, fun display of creativity and showmanship be reserved just for these wealthy elites, when there are so many amazing, creative New Yorkers who deserve to get the red-carpet treatment?” said Molly Gabe, co-founder of Date Gala.

This year’s beneficiaries are the Debt Collective, a debtors’ union born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and Dollars For, a nonprofit that reports reducing medical debt by ensuring low-income patients receive subsidized health care. Approximately $50 million has been eliminated.

The prevalence of health care debt has led to billions of dollars in relief from governments and private donors. A 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that four in 10 adults have some kind of medical and dental-related debt — with even higher numbers among Black and Hispanic adults, the uninsured and women.

Date Gala tickets ranged from $35-$1,000. Attendees were encouraged to wear red squares – a sign of debtors’ “in the red” status and a symbol of solidarity. A silent auction included almost every item in Steve Madden’s handbag.

Dollars For founder, Jared Walker, said the fundraiser aligns better with his nonprofit’s mission than more elaborate, black-tie events.

The Washington-based organization connects financially strapped families facing excessive medical expenses with legal teams that help them obtain charity care. Walker said every dollar raised will eliminate more than $25 of medical debt.

“I don’t want to do an old-school, golf tournament-type charity event,” Walker said.

Organizers billed the event as “a night out for people” and “a red carpet for people who will “never be able to buy a house”. Dinosaur slippers and pink curlers were a contrast to the Louboutins and dazzling tiaras of past Met Galas. One attendee wearing moccasins and a plaid, wearable blanket said she “wore all this yesterday!”

An evening accessory can be a sleeping eye mask. Winston Coon and Anurag Baksi wore black clothes with the words “Shut Up” and “Sleeping Beauty” written on them. Coon paired it with a $30 ring he bought at a corner store. Baxi finally gets a chance to break out the gown set she bought for the long flight.

“We’re here with the things we found in our cells, not to make fun of them – because I’ll definitely see tomorrow – but to show… there’s a different side of the world that maybe the focus on tomorrow Is not done,” Cooney said.

The anti-capitalist sentiment and focus on New York’s broader cultural landscape continued through a series of sometimes crude standup comedy sets and lively drag queen performances. Comedian Tina Friml joked that she wears plain clothes because she sleeps on the street wearing clothes – before later confessing that she actually sleeps naked.

Comedian Chanel Ali told The Associated Press that many artists lack good health insurance, making the issue particularly relevant to the creative community. Ali said she has colleagues who “will not let you call an ambulance no matter what” because “they don’t want to get stuck with the bill.”

Organizers came up with the concept several years ago after watching Met Gala coverage at a wine bar in Manhattan’s Theater District. The sentence came first: loan festival. But they soon decided that the enormity of the medical debt and the opportunity to rapidly increase the impact of the money raised made it an equally good cause to support, according to Tom Costello, director and co-founder of Debt Gala. .

Debtors at Sunday evening’s ceremony stressed the need to fight health care disparities inherent in the medical debt system. Longtime Brooklyn resident Philip Berkness said his month-long institutionalization against his will after a suicide attempt cost him nearly $50,000 in hospital bills.

Wearing a Brooks Brothers night gown from eBay, Berkness said that medical debt can be very embarrassing and that she was “completely destabilized” by the experience.

“At the end of the day, we need material support,” Bjerknes said. “It’s wonderful to reach that with fun and fashion.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits is supported through a collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. Solely responsible for this content. For all our philanthropy coverage, visit /hub/philanthropy.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.