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Media Release
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For Immediate Release: July 8, 2010

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TORONTO - The Actors' Fund of Canada is pleased to announce that Smile Theatre, an independent Toronto company that brings theatre to senior citizens has contributed to the wellbeing of everybody working in the entertainment industry by making a donation to the Fund.

Smile Theatre is the only company in Ontario exclusively dedicated to bringing theatre to senior citizens. Performing over 400 shows throughout a ten month season, they are able to brighten the days of over 40,000 senior citizens living in group homes or assisted living facilities.

This year, Smile decided to make a contribution to the Actors' Fund of Canada. General Manager Cathy Reid explained their decision, saying "Smile doesn't sell tickets and since many of our audience members are living on limited incomes we must look outside of our audience base for donations. Because of this we have never held a benefit for the Fund. However, this year we decided that the work the Fund does within the theatre community is just too important and that we wanted to support them with a donation from our general fund. We hope that other companies in similar situations will follow suit and make a donation to the fund to help support everybody who works in this sometimes perilous industry."

"This donation means a lot to us" said David Hope, Executive Director of the Fund. "We are grateful to have non-traditional theatres who recognize the value of the Fund and go out of their way to support us, especially during a year where demand on the Fund has risen sharply."

The Actors' Fund of Canada is the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. The Actors' Fund is not just for actors: performers and those 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 2009. 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 is a registered charity. It receives no government funding and is wholly sustained by support from individuals and entertainment industry organizations.

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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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