Source: Adult Industry News
By: Rich Moreland
Once again we’re entering the holiday season when family and giving to others is most important. When I think of family and porn, Girlfriends Films immediately comes to mind.
“Nobody has ever quit or retired from Girlfriends Films,” owner Dan O’Connell says. He likes to think of his company as a family. Girlfriends offers its staff health insurance, life insurance, and a 401 (k). But Dan takes family a step further, the company contributes regularly to charities selected by the performers it shoots.
Last January at the AEE (Adult Entertainment Expo) I interviewed Dana DeArmond, one of adult film’s classiest veterans, at the Girlfriends’ booth. Dana told me she was not feeling well and Moose, the company’s Vice President, visited her hotel room that morning with bottles of water and pepto-bismol.
He told her not to worry about signing, but Dana would have none of that.
“I am going to do press for this company because they take damn good care of me,” Dana said, “I love them.”
With appreciation, she mentioned something that really mattered to her.
“They let me choose a charity and donated a thousand dollars for me,” Dana commented. She selected Doctors Without Borders. In 2013 she had another opportunity and chose the 545-mile AIDS/LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to L.a., a fund raiser for HIV and AIDS patients.
“I feel like they are part of my family,” Dana declared then happily added, “I am in the Girlfriends’ family.”
The monthly donation is the linchpin of the Girlfriends Films Charity Program. In May Chastity Lynn selected Farm Sanctuary and $1,000 was given in her name. She chose the organization because of her concern for animal welfare. Superstar Tasha Reign persuaded Girlfriends to donate to CancerCare in August. She lost her father to the disease a few years ago. CancerCare provides counseling, support groups, and co-payment options to those stricken with the illness.
Girlfriends donated $1,000 to Planned Parenthood in the name of one of my favorites in the adult film world, Madison Young, the mother of an energetic three-year-old. The director and performer recalled that she was without health insurance in her twenties and very thankful for the services she received from Planned Parenthood.
Madison says the Girlfriends initiative “empowers performers and directors, offering an opportunity to create some small change in the world.” Everyone can give something back.
Adult film producers don’t like child pornography, something not universally understood by the public. Porn companies are offered the opportunity to support ASACP (Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection). It’s a non-profit that combats online child porn through a reporting system that turns in suspected sites. ASACP also enables parents to prevent their children from viewing online materials that are inappropriate by offering the website label RTA (restricted to adults).
This year Girlfriends donated $5,000 to the organization.
Family means caring for those close to you and reaching out to help others. Dan O’Connell, Moose, and the gang at Girlfriends know how to do just that.
