The SAG-AFTRA Foundation provided more than $800,000 in emergency financial assistance, Covid relief, financial crisis support for seniors, health care and disaster relief for union members this year, Foundation President Courtney B. Vance said during its year-end meeting at the Chimney. He also reported that the foundation awarded an additional $300,000 in college scholarships to 106 SAG-AFTRA members and their dependents.
“We could not have achieved all of this without the generosity of our donors,” he said, “so on behalf of the Foundation, I thank you for your continued support of our community in times of need, and when you need help, give us help when you can.”
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“As the industry gets back on track and productions are in full swing, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation continues to work hard to serve as the indispensable safety net and free educational resource for our community of 160,000 SAG-AFTRA artists across the country,” said. vance
He shared some of the foundation’s “big wins” that year, saying:
“In total, our dedicated programming team has created more than 5,500 free educational programs that have been attended by more than 31,000 SAG-AFTRA participants.
“There is a mental health series produced by the business program that aims to be a source of health, hope and healing. It is accessible on our YouTube channel, along with various topical panels of representatives and industry leaders to serve you personally and professionally.
“As band auditions became the new norm, our on-camera virtual lab recorded nearly 4,000 auditions and helped many land jobs. We will continue to offer this free service online and will reopen our on-site labs next year. Not only have our voice labs hosted over 170 free VO workshops online, but our engineers have helped set up hundreds of home recording studios for voice artists to record their auditions and assignments from the comfort of their own home record.
“And in 2022 we received over 830,000 views across all our recorded Conversations and The Business programmes. So subscribe to our YouTube channel to access this wealth of professional advice, strategy, technical tips and inspiration for actors and artists of all kinds.
“Our global children’s literacy initiative, Storyline Online, launched eight new storybooks featuring SAG-AFTRA artists Sutton Foster, Rosario Dawson, Joel McHale, Isabella Gomez, Lea Michele, Seth Meyers, Terry Crews and Connie Britton. Thank you to all these wonderful storytellers for volunteering their time and talent to help us promote literacy in children around the world.”
He noted that Storyline Online has had more than 900 million views since it launched more than 20 years ago. “And 2023 seems to be the year where we can reach 1 billion views,” he said.
In closing, Vance said, “I would like to remind you that our foundation depends on the generosity of SAG-AFTRA members to keep our work strong and vital. Please consider making a donation during this time of giving to support our foundation and your family of fellow artists. Thank you for remembering us and we wish you a blessed holiday. May you and your loved ones be received with peace and goodwill.
Author: David Robb
Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
