Speaking Up for the Voice

A A A Comments By Patricia Calhoun Thursday, Oct 7 2010

A vendor is hawking the Denver Voice outside of Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret — where at 6 p.m. tonight, Comedy in the Clocktower will raise funds to keep the urban newspaper alive. The Voice, a recipient of a 2009 MasterMind award from Westword and part of a growing group of papers across the country that are devoted to the homeless community, not only covers that community, but also supports it: Vendors keep the change from sales. But that means the Voice needs donations to stay alive, and those have dried up in these tough economic times.

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“When we hit this fundraising crunch, those vendors were the first people I thought about,” says Gretchen Crowe, who runs the vending program. “This isn’t just about my job.” According to Crowe, about two-thirds of the more than a hundred active vendors live in some form of housing, “and about half of those pay for their housing with their vending efforts.”

But if there’s no money to print, there’s no paper to sell. And so supporters will gather at Lannie’s, 1601 Arapahoe Street (“a wonderful flagship in the middle of our primary vending area,” says Crowe) for a comedy show emceed by Greg Baumhauer, with special guest Eugene Kenny, headliner Deacon Gray and “a kickass silent auction.” “We still have a lot of work to do,” says Crowe, “but we’re going full speed ahead.” Tickets are $100; for more information, call 303-539-7226.
Wed., Oct. 13, 6 p.m., 2010

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