The New York City Ghostbusters are on another mission now. In addition to fighting ghosts, they have adopted another way to help the city they love: raising money for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth — and they are doing it right here at New York Comic Con (NYCC).
The Trinity Place Shelter is a shelter in NYC that caters specifically to members of the LGBTQ+ community who lost their housing, often due to unaccepting caregivers. The New York City Ghostbusters are an officially licensed 501C3 Charity, and the money they raise this weekend at NYCC will go directly to the Trinity Place Shelter.
The Pop Insider sat down with Nick Detiberiis, vice-chair of New York City Ghostbusters, to learn more about how the ghost-fighting group combines NYCC and philanthropy.
Their booth (Booth No. RPC17) was bustling with kids in cosplay and their excited parents taking photos. The parents were probably Ghostbuster fans when they were their kids’ age and are enjoying this full-circle moment. With one of the only booths focusing primarily on the kids of the con, the cosplaying kids patiently await the volunteer running the booth to help them with their child-focused slime activation activity.
Donations received from the slime experience are one of the main ways the funds are raised. The group hopes to raise $10,000 this week at the con for Trinity Place. They expect to be busiest on Sunday, NYCC’s official “Kid’s Day.”
“It is a small charity, and we are a small group, so we work well together, and essentially any (donations) we bring in, we can really see how far it goes,” Detiberiis says.
The group works with various local charities throughout the year. And the New York City Ghostbusters aren’t alone: There are Ghosbuster groups all over the world; and while some are just cosplaying, many are making a difference in their local communities, just like they are here in the Big Apple. With approximately 75 members, the NYC chapter is one of the largest Ghostbusters chapters.
If you are coming to NYCC this year, be sure to stop by the New York City Ghostbuster’s booth (Booth No. RPC17) to help their cause, have some fun, feel the nostalgia, and meet the Ghostbusters. If slime isn’t your thing, the booth sells con-exclusive pins, shirts, stickers, and other fun items, like raffle tickets for daily raffles as well as a week-long one, in which one lucky fan will get to ride in the group’s own Ecto-1 model and tour Ghostbuster’s iconic filming locations. For more information about this group and their work, please visit call.nycghostbusters.com, and stop by to see them this weekend at NYCC.
