The Screen Actors Guild Foundation

It's About the Actor

The Screen Actors Guild Awards® are not your typical awards show. The SAG Awards® are one of the few awards shows that arranges for the celebrity presenter to host the segment they are presenting, a production technique that moves the show along and adds to the energy and excitement of the evening. Television viewers are treated to delightful entertainment which wraps up as promised in it's two hour time slot.

Adding to the excitement is that the awards being presented have been voted on by the actor's own peers, making it truly an honored distinction for the winners. In the audience are actors and actresses from the finest films and television programs, there to support their peers, and because by being there they can also make a difference in the lives of others.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are not only the Guild's annual celebration of the exceptional accomplishments of its members, it is also an event to benefit the Screen Actors Guild Foundation®. When the Screen Actors Guild proclaims their award show "is about the Actor," they are not only referring to the performers singled out for the year's most notable performances in film and television, they are also referring collectively to the 118,000 members of their union.

I recently spoke with Yale Summers, an affable gentleman and distinguished actor with over 500 credits on his resume. Mr. Summers semi-retired from acting in 1979 and has since dedicated his time to public service. Among his many efforts on behalf of fellow actors and the community, Summers has served on the SAG Board of Directors for 27 years and has devoted energy to the Screen Actors Guild Foundation since its inception in 1985. He is currently the Chair of the SAG Awards Committee and Second Vice President of the SAG Foundation. With all this experience, Yale clearly summarized the purpose of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, a separate entity from the Screen Actors Guild, an extraordinary organization dedicated to bridging community service to performers and the general public.

Since the Foundation's establishment, it has helped more than 100,000 performers through it's health and hardship programs, educational assistance, scholarships, and opportunities for community outreach programs. Through national programs such as BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), the Foundation provides Guild members - including many of today's top stars - an opportunity to volunteer in local communities. In the Los Angeles area alone, over 15,000 students to date have had stories come alive for them as visiting celebrities shared their love of storytelling and reading aloud. In more than 20 cities across the United States, BookPALS volunteers, including Jane Kaczmarek, read to more than 100,000 children each week in schools and even at some homeless shelters. Children also have the opportunity, through a toll-free number, to hear pre-recorded stories read by some of Hollywood's most familiar stars, including William Daniels, Tom Bosley, and Benicio Del Toro.

The Foundation is also working to establish a Family Reading program to help adults interact with and read to their children and to help parents take an active role in developing their children's language skills. Visit BookPals's official website for more information about the program and to access the storyline phone numbers for children.

Through it's membership assistance programs, the SAG Foundation confidentially provides emergency funds for the aid, relief and care of needy, sick, indigent and aged Guild members. They provide hardship funds to help members with their housing and utility costs. The Foundation's AIDS Task Force has raised over a half-million dollars from Guild members to benefit organizations that provide AIDS and HIV-specific care to Guild members and others through the United States. They also created a Protease Inhibitor Fund.

Through partnerships, the Foundation has developed the High School/High Tech pilot program to create training and employment opportunities for youth (aged 14 - 21) with disabilities in technology related jobs. The Foundation's John L. Dales Scholarship Fund has helped SAG members and their dependents reach their educational potential by providing more than half a million dollars in college scholarships.

After the 9-11 terror attacks, the Screen Actors Guild Foundation quickly pledged money to directly aid the victims' families. In addition, Screen Actors Guild president William Daniels phoned President Bush and offered to donate the services of Hollywood stars in whatever way the White House saw fit in the wake of the disaster.

Summers explained that no SAG membership dues are used to fund any of the Foundation's programs and services. The SAG Foundation is funded through private donations, corporate gifts, and bequests, and also by quiet contributions from many of the same actors and actresses we see being celebrated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

One of the SAG Foundation's major benefactors is the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a co-sponsor of the annual Post Show Gala with People Magazine (they are being joined this year by Balance Bar® and GMC Yukon Denali). This annual Gala raises funds specifically to endow the SAG Foundation. On Sunday, before the Screen Actors Guild broadcast, Martin Landau will present a significant check to Mitch Ryan, president of the SAG Foundation, on behalf of the Entertainment Industry Foundation and People Magazine.

The many generous corporate donors who provide products and services to thank the presenters for donating their time and talent with specially created gift collections have also made it possible for the SAG Foundation to raise additional funds by auctioning these splendid packages and rare SAG Awards memorabilia on eBay. Click here to check out the product details and auction links.

When you watch the Screen Actors Guild Awards® you'll know the festivities not only celebrate theatrical excellence but also benefit many wonderful projects across the United States. ---

Linda Mirabella

Editor, LAStarz.com