Harvey Meissner with Bill Scott and Cece Cox at Resource Center
The Tony Bobrow Trust distributed more than $250K in donations to five local nonprofits this week, with more donations coming
Harvey Meissner presents a Tony Bobrow Trust donation to Brooke Henderson, executive director of Legacy Caresr
Harvey Meissner, co-trustee of The Anthony Bobrow Trust as well as president and general manager of The Hidden Door, recently presented checks totalling more than a quarter-million dollars to five local nonprofits providing services to the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS communities in North Texas.
The trust, established by the estate of Hidden Door owner Tony Bobrow following his death in February 2018, is funded in part by proceeds from The Hidden Door. The trust made its first round of donations to community organizations in May that same year.
In the most recent round of donations, Meissner presented checks to A.I.N., Legacy Cares/Legacy Founders Cottage, Cathedral Charities, AIDS Services of Dallas and Resource Center.
Since those first donations in May 2018 and including these most recent donations, Meissner said, “With these we’ve put more than $2.3 million back into our community.”
Harvey Meissner presents The Tony Bobrow Trust’s latest donation to A.I.N. staff members
The trust was set to finalize another $60,000 donation this week, he added, “with at least $50,000 planned for later this year.”
Meissner said, “That provides life-saving and life-changing assistance to thousands in Dallas County each year. We also support groups in Tony’s hometown — Teague, Texas — with well over $350,000 in donations there since 2018. That calculates at $100 per resident [that is] not included in the Dallas totals.
“Our customers make this possible, and thanks go to them,” Meissner continued. “Almost all the profits of The Hidden Door are paid to the Trust to allow contributions like these. The trust has very minimal operating expenses.”
He concluded, “Tony Bobrow made sure his trust was well-funded; we shared significantly more than our usual level of donations during the COVID crisis. Its work will continue at least into the 2030s, [and] successor trustees are already named and in place to continue to meet the goals Tony left us.
The Rev. Neil Thompson, right, accepts a donation for Cathedral Charities from Harvey Meissner with the Tony Bobrow Trust
“The Hidden Door is celebrating its 45th year of service this year, and we intend to confirm our slogan — ‘Friendliest bar in Texas’ — every day with every customer.”
— Tammye Nash
Traswell Livingston, CEO of AIDS Services of Dallas, left, accepts a donation from Harvey Meissner with The Tony Bobrow Trust
