With a blush, church accepts strippers' collection of gifts

Church leaders decide to distribute the toys to needy children.

By SUSAN THURSTON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 23, 2001

TAMPA -- In the end, it came down to the children.

Leaders of Without Walls International Church in Tampa decided Saturday to accept gifts gathered by strippers at a Brandon club who flashed their breasts for a toy donation.

"We do not condone the way that they were collected . . . but we appreciate the donation," church spokeswoman Jennifer Mallan said. "We'll bless it and we'll distribute it."

Church officials didn't know what to do after learning Friday how the gifts were collected. Radio disc jockey Bubba the Love Sponge Clem promised them a truckload of toys, but they had no idea he had told listeners they could get a sneak peek if they brought their donations to the Deja Vu strip club.

When church leaders found out, they weren't sure whether they should keep them.

Mallan said that after talking it over, church leaders agreed it was best to pass out the gifts as planned.

"There is a tremendous need in the community," Mallan said. "The stories we've heard are heartbreaking. There are a lot families who don't have anything."

The large church off Columbus Street in Tampa distributes new toys and food every year to families in need. For many children, the gifts are the only ones they will get for Christmas.

Between 700 and 1,000 parents registered their children for age-appropriate gifts and picked them up Saturday as part of the church's ninth annual Christmas Extravaganza. Remaining toys will be distributed today.

Several parents said they didn't care how the gifts were collected or that strippers were involved.

"Whatever they did, it was for a good cause," said Darlene Brown, a mother of three from Tampa. "They were trying to show compassion."

Listeners of WXTB-FM 97.9 (Rock 98) brought more than a 1,000 toys to the strip club, where dancers flashed them in the parking lot. Gifts included everything from Barbies to board games to bicycles.

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