We were taking collections for people with AIDS in New York around Easter.

Rivera’s remark points to the grassroots, community-based fundraising that became common in the performing-arts world during the height of the AIDS crisis. By anchoring the memory “around Easter,” she evokes a season associated with mourning, compassion, and renewal, underscoring how charitable action was woven into ordinary cultural and religious calendars rather than treated as a distant political issue. The plain, matter-of-fact phrasing (“taking collections”) suggests practical solidarity—small donations gathered in person—reflecting how artists and audiences often responded directly to urgent need when institutional support was limited or slow.