|
|
|
Media Release
|
|
| |
|
For Immediate Release: May 9, 2008
|
TORONTO - It was with words of praise for the organization's role in assisting entertainment industry members in distress that Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) National Executive Director and CEO Brian Anthony today announced a $15,000 contribution to the Actors' Fund of Canada.
"The Actors' Fund has been a sympathetic refuge for DGC members and our peers who have experienced devastating hardships in this uncertain industry," said Mr. Anthony. "I am proud that we are able to support the work of the Fund and renew our commitment to this community."
The Actors' Fund is the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. Performers and those working behind the scenes in film & TV, 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 the performing arts community in a single year, topping $500,000 in the 12-month period that ended on March 31. 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 organization marks 50 years of service to entertainment industry members in 2008 with a campaign focused on raising awareness of its emergency financial aid program and uniting Canada's arts community to raise funds for the cause.
Actors' Fund of Canada Executive Director David Hope highlighted the importance of DGC's relationship with the Fund: "Our ability to carry out our mission depends very much on the financial support of the unions and guilds whose members we serve. Moreover we count on them, both at the national and regional levels, for raising awareness of the Fund among their members and encouraging member participation. Through our efforts to raise the Fund's profile with the 50th anniversary campaign and the co-operation of our partners, the message is getting out that the Actors' Fund is relevant to everyone in our industry and all Canadians who care about the work our cultural industries produce.
We are fortunate to have the support of DGC National. We look forward to working with them and with DGC's District Councils for the benefit of DGC members and the health and welfare of all Canadian cultural workers."
The Directors Guild of Canada is a national labour organisation that represents over 3,800 key creative and logistical personnel in the film and television industry covering all areas of direction, design, production and editing. The Directors Guild of Canada consists of a National Office in Toronto and District Councils in Alberta, the Atlantic Region, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, each headquartered in a major production centre of the region it represents.
The Actors' Fund of Canada is a registered charity that has paid out over $3.5 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 government funding and is wholly sustained by support from individuals and entertainment industry organizations.
|
--30--
|
CONTACT:
David Hope, The Actors' Fund of Canada
Phone: 1-877-399-8392
E-mail: contact@actorsfund.ca
Web site: www.actorsfund.ca
|
| |
|
|
|
|
©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
|
|
|
