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Media Release
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For Immediate Release: December 9, 2009
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TORONTO - Canadian audiences showed their generosity with $54,000 in donations to the Actors' Fund of Canada and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) during the recent Canadian tour of A Chorus Line's US National Company. The two charities are splitting the donations collected by cast members following performances in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Vancouver throughout November. The Canadian stops on the company's tour coincided with the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS annual fall appeal period - six weeks of fund-raising when shows on and Off-Broadway engage in a friendly competition to see which show can raise the most money for BC/EFA.
"With their shows in Toronto in November 2008 and their recent Canadian tour, this outstanding company has raised a total of $117,000 for our two charities", said Actors' Fund of Canada Executive Director David Hope. "We are very grateful for their support, which is helping us to meet the high level of demand for emergency financial aid that we have experienced in recent months and which we expect to continue through the winter."
The Actors' Fund of Canada is the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. Performers and others who work behind the scenes in film and television, theatre, music and dance can apply for emergency financial aid from the Fund, which recently set a new record for the amount of financial aid delivered to industry members in a single year, topping $600,000 in 2008. The Fund has helped over 10,000 entertainment industry workers recover from illness, injury or other circumstances causing severe economic and personal hardship since it was founded in 1958.
"The Actors' Fund of Canada's cooperation made it possible for the US company of A Chorus Line to participate in our annual campaign while in Canada." said BC/EFA Executive Director, Tom Viola. "BC/EFA fundraising contributes directly to programs run by the Actors' Fund of America, which shares with its Canadian counterpart a common purpose of improving the lives of entertainment industry professionals. A career as an artist is not easy, but with organizations such as the Actors' Fund helping our colleagues who would otherwise have nowhere else to turn, this industry becomes a safer, more caring place to work. We are very happy to continue our partnership with the Actors' Fund of Canada and hope to do more together in the future."
The Actors' Fund of Canada is a registered charity that has paid out over $3.7 million in rent payments, grocery money, utility payments and other basic living expenses in the last 10 years. Performers, creators, technical staff and other production team members can benefit from the Fund, which receives no major government funding and is sustained by support from individuals and entertainment industry organizations.
Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS is one of the leading industry-based, not-for-profit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations in the United States. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $175 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses, awarding annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations across the United States.
For more information, visit www.broadwaycares.org.
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Actors' Fund of Canada Executive Director David Hope
and the cast of the US National Company of "A Chorus Line"
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CONTACT:
David Hope, The Actors' Fund of Canada
Phone: 1-877-399-8392
E-mail: contact@actorsfund.ca
Web site: www.actorsfund.ca
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©2010 The Actors' Fund of Canada - 1000 Yonge Street, Suite 301 Toronto, ON M4W 2K2
contact@actorsfund.ca / Tel: 416.975.0304 / Toll-Free: 1.877.399.8392 / Fax: 416.975.0306
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