SAN ANTONIO — As temperatures begin to drop, there’s a little bin of warmth in the front of Master Minds Tattoo Shop. As part of its first-ever "Cozy 4 Baphy" donation campaign, the Satanic Temple – San Antonio Chapter is asking for donations of warm clothes, hand sanitizer and personal hygiene products.
“We get donations in and I think our bin is full every week for pickups,” said Dehlia Vance, manager of the tattoo shop. “We’ve been getting a good response from the community to help on out.”
The Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion, which means its members don’t believe in a devil or the supernatural, but instead use the image of Satan to symbolize resistance against tyranny. “Baphy” refers to a monument of Baphomet associated with the temple.
Collecting warm clothes to help the homeless make it through the winter lines up with the first of the temple's seven fundamental tenets.
“One should strive to act in compassion and empathy to all creatures within reason,” said Attar B’Alam, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple San Antonio.
B’alam says that coronavirus concerns may make the need greater this year.
“We figured a lot of displaced members of our society would not want to seek shelter because they have limited access to health care and being cramped up in shelters like that would just expose them to more,” he said.
Though not affiliated with the temple itself, Master Minds is one of many San Antonio businesses helping to collect donations.
“It doesn’t matter what religion you believe in or any of that stuff,” said Master Minds Owner Kika Blunt. “As long as you’re helping out people, that’s what’s important. That’s what we’re doing.”
Information on the Cozy 4 Baphy clothing drive is available on the Satanic Temple – San Antonio’s Facebook page.
Donations can be dropped off at the following locations:
- Old Glory Tattoos
- Idle Hands Tattoos
- Nostalgic Ink Tattoos
- Ink and Iron Tattoos
- Roadmap Brewing Co
- Inskein Yarns
- Cereal Killer Sweets
- Master Minds Tattoos
Some of the tattoo shops accept donations by appointment only. There is also an Amazon wish list that can be used to contribute.
You can learn more about the Satanic Temple San Antonio on its website.