After women’s march, hundreds attend Planned Parenthood event

Max Zahn
Approximately 300 supporters attended a Planned Parenthood fundraiser at Thyme Restaurant on Jan. 23.

Two days after an estimated 3 million people participated in women’s marches across the globe, Thyme Restaurant on Monday opened its doors for a nine-hour fundraiser that raised over $30,000 for Planned Parenthood of Nassau County.

“I see this as another step, a small version of the march,” said Nancy Serna, general manager of the restaurant and bar in downtown Roslyn.

“When we have access to a space, it’s our social responsibility to open it up for community activism,” Serna added. “I can’t think of a better organization to do it for.”

An estimated 300 people showed up for the event between 1 and 10 p.m., including supporters as young as two and a half weeks and as old as 93.

“Since the election there has been an outpouring of support, both moral and financial, for Planned Parenthood,” said JoAnn D. Smith, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County.

“It’s organic support,” she added. “Nothing we’re doing ourselves.”

The fundraiser at Thyme exemplified this spontaneous response to the election of Donald J. Trump, after which Serna reached out to Sarah Miller, the vice president of public affairs and education at Planned Parenthood of Nassau County.

“Nancy [Serna] said she would open her restaurant up, and all the proceeds from the cash bar would go to Planned Parenthood,” Smith said.

Planned Parenthood promoted the event through social media and mass email, but did not expect the turnout.

“People came here with friends,” Smith said.

In response to President Trump’s promises to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act, Smith said, “Planned Parenthood vows to never close our doors, especially to those most vulnerable and at risk.”

That commitment depends on support from people like the ones who attended the fundraiser on Monday.

“What’s great about this community is people who have capacity make extremely generous gifts and people with less capacity making extremely generous gifts,” Smith said. “This outpouring of support brings hope to my heart for the future.”

Serna said she first visited a Planned Parenthood facility while in college in Stamford, Connecticut.

“As a mother of daughters, I always want it to be available to them,” she said.

Nathaniel Lehrman, a 93-year-old Roslyn resident, said he came to the fundraiser because he “wanted to join the throngs” he saw marching.

Lehrman advocated for women’s access to birth control in Boston in the 1960s, he said.

“Young people should not take anything for granted,” he added.

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