YNOT – Van Nuys, Calif.-based adult studio Pink Visual has issued a call to its fellow adult industry denizens to aid people, wildlife and businesses affected by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Last month, a deepwater drilling rig owned by British Petroleum collapsed in the Gulf, leaving millions of gallons of crude oil pouring into the water. The resulting environmental disaster has shut down commercial fishing from Florida to Texas, impacted summer tourism all along the Gulf Coast leaving thousands unemployed, and destroyed hundreds of acres of endangered wildlife habitat. The U.S. government does not expect the well to be capped completely until sometime this fall.
Pink Visual has adopted the cause as its own, not only by making an initial $2,500 contribution to the Environmental Defense Fund, but also by committing to match individual donations made by the company’s employees. PV also will provide paid time off to employees who volunteer in the affected region, and is creating a series of training webinars through which people who have lost their jobs due to the spill can learn new skills to help get them back on their feet, a spokesman said.
“Just like everybody else who has been watching the news unfold, our hearts break a little more with each passing day that this massive leak continues,” said Pink Visual President Allison Vivas. “Our company is filled with smart individuals who heavily support ‘green’ initiatives and who are compassionate towards wildlife and humanity. Various members of the company sat down [last] week to discuss what we might be able to do to help, and decided that a multi-prong approach was the way to go. We know that we can only accomplish so much on our own, and that’s why we’re calling on others in the industry to join with us in this effort.”
The company has established a resource page where industry peers, fans and the general public can discover what they can do to assist in cleanup and recovery efforts throughout the Gulf Coast region.
“In addition to being simply the right thing to do, this effort provides an opportunity to show that the adult entertainment industry is made up of good, compassionate people, despite the way we are often stereotyped and stigmatized by our critics,” Vivas said. “This industry benefits every day from the patronage and support of fans from the Gulf Coast region, and there are plenty of people in the industry who hail from the Gulf Coast as well, so its high time we return the favor and do what we can to help mitigate this crisis.”
