Club hosting food drive

BURLINGTON CITY - A local club owner has organized a food drive to help families in need. Nonperishable goods can be dropped off from noon to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday at the Playhouse Lounge on Route 130, co-owner John Kusmaul said. The food will be distributed through SisterHood Inc., a city-based nonprofit that offers counseling and a variety of programs to underserved members of the community. Also, Kusmaul and his staff have "adopted" six families through SisterHood and are buying presents for Christmas. "They've been wonderful," said the Rev. Hilda Covington, SisterHood's founder and president. The Playhouse has supported Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a local fundraiser for a soldier deployed to Iraq, and organizations supporting diabetes and cancer research, among other charities. Proceeds from the business' holiday party Dec. 22 will be donated to charity. Kusmaul hopes to inspire other businesses to join in giving back. "Strip clubs are thought of as lesser businesses and we get a bad rap in society," said Kusmaul, who opened the Playhouse in the late 1980s. "I want them to think, 'If the strip club can do things for people, why can't we?' " [view link]