The Family Medicine division of the Harbor UCLA Hospital has turned back several donations from companies in the adult industry.
Georgia Miles, a former freelance writer and adult production manager, had asked some of her industry contacts to donate funds this year to help families in need. It has been a personal cause of hers for the past three years.
Among those who immediately responded were Vivid Entertainment Group’s Marci Hirsch, Wicked Pictures’ Joy King, Hustler’s Larry Flynt and AVN’s Paul Fishbein. But upon receiving the checks, two employees in the Family Medicine offices recognized they were from the adult industry and refused them.
“I was very outraged myself. I felt very bad,” Miles said. “I’ve known Paul for about 12 years and he’s a very nice person. I also got a huge donation from Vivid, from Marci Hirsch, who even wanted to come over and hand out toys to children.”
Miles said she is on the neighborhood council in the Harbor-Gateway area, and in September she distributed 25 letters of request to local mainstream companies at a Chamber of Commerce meeting.
“Everybody was going to help me at the meeting back in September, and then when it came time to ante up, only one person, Costco, gave me three lousy wrapping papers,” Miles told AVN.com. “The rest of them said they didn’t have any money in their budget this year.”
“I wanted to help [the families] so bad, so I called people in the adult industry that I haven’t even spoken to in almost four years, and for them to get a slap in face was very hard for me to take. I felt so horrible.”
Miles continued, “I gave [the donations] to two girls in the Accounting Department of Family Medicine. I asked them, ‘how did you even know who this is?’ One of them said, ‘Well, I recognized Wicked.” I said, ‘Well, if you were a fan enough to know the names of these companies, why are you turning up your nose?’ She said, ‘well, we have to be careful with who we take money from.'
“Nobody would give me any money this year as far as mainstream corporations and within hours of sending Marci Hirsch the facts, she called me to say she was giving 500 dollars.
“I think what they pulled is really shitty… I give up. I wash my hands of the whole thing.”
