Bijou, on a similar past thread about these functions, some Brit DUmmy sniffed, "we don't have such things in Great Britain."
I simply don't understand why the DUmmies get so worked up. NY lets us gamble at them, so if you set up a casino night at the Legion, say, and add in a bunch of other games & activities, the ladies set out a buffet of food, let the drinks flow, TONS of cash is raised. And the people in trouble feel A LOT of LOVE from their community. What's not to like? You're sick as a dog, panicked about money on top of that, and you see 500 people come out for you? That's got to feel good. Better than everyone bitching about their taxes being jacked up.
Oh and BTW Brickbat, we have a huge contingent of Italians here. Our spaghetti isn't "shitty." The food is AWESOME.