Regardless of your political persuasion or your opinions on current cultural trends, this should be a wake up call to you.  Isn’t a public corporation’s responsibility ultimately to its shareholders?  If so, then how can becoming a $100,000 sponsor of the Chicago Gay Games 2006 help to reach this end?  Unless, or course, Walgreens feels that the Gay and Lesbian crowd is a new major market for them.  Who know?  Here is the article that got my interest up…

Drug Store Chain Becomes Major Sponsor of Gay Games

The Walgreens Corp. has committed $100,000 in support of

the 7th annual Gay Games in Chicago — a move that has

many questioning whether one of the country’s largest

dispensers of pharmaceuticals really has the nation’s

health in mind.

Walgreens said the agreement to sponsor the event was

borne out of the desire to contribute to HIV/AIDS

prevention. But the Gay Games Web site makes that claim

look preposterous.

"The Gay Games Social Committee is currently in the

process of gathering together Chicago’s best bars and

clubs, and some of the biggest and best party promoters in

the country to create a Social Schedule unlike anything

you’ve ever seen," the site reads. "Chicago’s LGBT scene

is fierce no matter what time of the year it is, but

during that one week in July 2006, we are committed to

making sure you have the time of your life."

Don Wildmon, chairman of the American Family Association,

called donating money under the guise of AIDS prevention a

farce.

"To make their sponsorship appear to be a good thing

publicly, they say they are providing AIDS education," he

said. "If any group should be aware of the dangers of AIDS

and how to prevent it, it should be homosexual activists."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To see the official sponsors as

listed on the Gay Games Web site, click on the following

link. (If you are easily offended, please skip this part.)

http://www.gaygameschicago.org/sponsors/home.php

TAKE ACTION: You may call the Walgreens headquarters in

Deerfield, Ill., at 847-914-2500 or toll-free at

877-250-5823. You may also e-mail the company’s president

through the CitizenLink Action Center:

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/issues/alert/?alertid=8151051&type=CU

I wrote an email to Walgreens’ President.  You can click on the above link to do so yourself.

Jonathan