Sexual harassment has taken center stage in the national discussion, as more and more people bring their stories to light and we build safer places for people to open up about what they’ve experienced. This Sunday, waitstaff and bartenders will be doing their part with Tip-Out Day, an initiative to raise money for local sexual assault-focused charities.
Tip Out Day was started last year in New Orleans and the concept is fairly straightforward: Servers commit to giving their tips for a day — Sunday, April 8th this year — to organizations that support sexual assault survivors. Backed by Shift Change, a charity that supports changing restaurant culture to end sexual harassment, servers choose a local cause to donate to, and at the end of the night, their tips go to the charity they’ve picked. The initiative was inspired, in part, by founders Mark Schettler and Molly Lebow’s practice of making informal donations every Thursday:
Schettler’s experiences as general manager at the French Quarter hotspot Bar Tonique inspired the event: Every Thursday, he and his co-workers would set aside a portion of their tips to give to a different local charity. The recipient organization was generally decided upon by the first bar regular to walk through the door.
With the “immediate” cash flow in the industry, donating was easy, says Schettler. “We would take our money at the end of the night and put a check in the mail the next day.”
Like most aspects of public life, the restaurant industry is facing a reckoning with harassment, sexual and otherwise, in the workplace. Moments like Tip Out Day are important to move the culture forward and to keep the industry talking about the issues it faces. Take a moment to look at the map, find someone participating, and leave a tip. It won’t just be their cause you’re helping, you’ll be pushing the entire industry in the right direction.
(via The New Orleans Advocate)
