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Media Release
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Toronto Theatre Community Recognizes 50 Years
of Outstanding Service with Rare Honour
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For Immediate Release: July 3, 2008
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TORONTO - In recognition of 50 years of outstanding contributions to the performing arts industry in Canada, the Actors' Fund of Canada was awarded a special Honorary Dora Mavor Moore Award at the 29th annual Dora Awards ceremony held on Monday June 30 at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre. In receiving the award, the Actors' Fund holds the distinction of being one of only five recipients to have ever been awarded an Honorary Dora and of being the only institution to have received the award. The select list of previous Honorary Dora recipients includes charismatic arts patron Mrs. Bluma Appel, esteemed Tarragon Theatre Artistic Director Urjo Kareda, legendary actor William Hutt and philanthropist and arts supporter Joan Chalmers. The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are presented by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA).
The Actors' Fund is the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. Over 10,000 professional members of the industry from all over Canada and in the fields of theatre, film & TV, music and dance have been helped by the Fund, which provides emergency financial aid to assist cultural workers in recovering from an illness, injury or other circumstances causing severe economic and personal hardship. Performers and those working behind the scenes can apply for assistance 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 marks its 50th anniversary in 2008 with a campaign focused on raising awareness of its emergency financial aid program and uniting Canada's arts community in support of the organization.
Commenting on the honour, Actors' Fund President Graham Harley said, "I am delighted to accept this Dora on behalf of all of the Board members and staff over the past 50 years. One thing that makes the Fund so wonderful is that it not only dispenses money when money is desperately needed, but that it also symbolises the fact that as a community we care for our colleagues and our fellow artists. From the letters that we receive we know that it is not only the financial help that is appreciated - though that is important enough - but the fact that when life is at its darkest, there is someone out there who actually cares about you, and is in a position to help. This honour that reminds us all of how vital the Fund is to the health of the entertainment community in Canada and it will spur us on to ensure that everybody can benefit from - and, I should add, contribute to - its existence in the coming 50 years."
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.
Photos: Graham Harley, President of the Actors’ Fund of Canada accepts the Honorary Dora Mavor Moore Award.
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^ Photo by John Lauener
^ Photo by Keesic
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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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