The Actors Fund Blog Has Moved!

Attention Actors Fund fans: we’ve moved our Blog home to the actorsfund.org website! Visit us at actorsfund.org/Blog to stay up-to-date on our latest news, client stories, event information, fascinating tidbits and much, much more! (And if you’re following us automatically, be sure to update your feed settings.)

Be sure to check out the first post on out featuring our 2013 Gala Ticket Giveaway — it tells you how you can enter to win two tickets to our 2013 Gala on April 29, honoring Academy Award®-winning actor Robert De Niro, HBO® (accepted by CEO Richard Plepler) and entrepreneur/film producer and Fund Trustee Steve Kalafer!

(And to anyone just joining us, below is a little intro to The Actors Fund. See you soon at our new Blog home!)

The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that helps everyone—performers and those behind the scenes—who works in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 13,500 people directly each year, and hundreds of thousands online. Serving professionals in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio and dance, The Fund’s programs include social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and employment and training services. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Actors Fund has—for 131 years—been a safety net for those in need, crisis or transition. Visit www.actorsfund.org.

Run/Walk Wednesday: Robin LaBorwit

Over the last few weeks, we’ve spent every Wednesday leading up to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Revlon Run/Walk (May 4 in New York, May 11 in Los Angeles), celebrating our team members! This week we talk to Robin LaBorwit, Social Work Supervisor extraordinaire in our Los Angeles office.

(We’d love to have you answer these questions, too! If you’re one of our team members, contact our captain Caroline Parrone, and you could be featured on our blog!)

Actors Fund: Are you walking in “honor” or “memory” of someone special in this year’s EIF Revlon Run/Walk? 
Robin LaBorwit: I am walking in honor of Lynn Redgrave, a staunch supporter of The Actors Fund.  I walked for the first time in the EIF Revlon Run/Walk the year that Ms. Redgrave died. I also walk in memory of my mother as well as in solidarity with my clients – past and present – and close friends who continue to live with cancer – some in remission.

AF: Why do you walk with The Actors Fund team?
RL: The Actors Fund provides a community of support and I believe that community is essential to the task of both living and dying.

AF: The Fund’s services help everyone in film, theatre, television, music, opera, radio and dance in need. So, what’s your favorite art form, and why?
RL: Hard question. My mother was in AFTRA, and I have very fond memories of being five years old and running amuck in the Ed Sullivan Theater (the last time I ran, by the way), so I grew up with television – I love television. I was also lucky enough to have been exposed and encouraged to go to all the Broadway and Off-Broadway and Off-off Broadway theater I could afford (thank you TKTS), and was also briefly a performance artist (another story for another day), so I love theater. I was also taught that the most hedonistic activity was going to a movie in the middle of the day, so I love movies. I thought I was going to be a dancer (I was too short), so I love dancing, too. Not to mention that I could not live without the radio when I drive. So, long story short…all of the above with the exception of opera (though that’s mostly because I don’t speak any other language).

AF: Run or walk, and why?
RL: I am a walker. I hate running – too much….running.

AF: We’re taking a vote: Suggest a Theme Song for this years’ team.
RL: How about a chant: “We’re here, we’re strong, live long!”

The EIF Revlon Run/Walk is an annual event that raises money and awareness for the fight against women’s cancers. Among other beneficiaries, proceeds help support The Fund’s The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative (PNWHI), created to address the myriad of concerns women face when dealing with a serious medical condition. Help us fight the fight by joining one of our teams (clickhere for NYC, here for LA), or making a pledge or donation on behalf of someone who’s walking with us. Your pledge will help fund important research into the cause and cure of women’s cancers, prevention, education and support service programs for those women battling cancer and their families.

Lillian Booth Actors Home Named Among Best Nursing Homes In The US

“I’m in awe every time I visit The Home. It’s a national treasure of talented artists under one roof — a group with so much to share with us, and with each other.” –Brian Stokes Mitchell, Chairman

The Lillian Booth Actors Home houses big talent. As Stokes says, its a unique community of individuals who have dedicated a major portion of their professional lives to performing arts and entertainment. But there’s also big talent behind the scenes, as evidenced by the recent U.S.News & World Report naming it among the best nursing homes in the country!

Our assisted living and skilled nursing care facility in Englewood, NJ received the highest-possible rating of five stars from the 2013 report. Of the 16,000 nursing homes in the US, only 3,036 received a five-star rating from the federal government (results are based on data collected from Nursing Home Compare, a website run by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

Special thanks go to our facility’s entire staff – this dedicated team of 125 people takes great great pride in providing the best care possible for our 124 residents. In this photo, front row, left to right: Omar Castano, Jesus Serrano, Maritza Bonilla, Luz Lopez, Tolgonay Agamez, Michelle Rauch, Joyce Kim, Kim Eng, Jose Lopez, Arjan Dema. Middle row, left to right: Nafi Diakebe, Miguelina Cuello, Ana Carasig, Yalile Alzate, Maria Box, Gladys Zelaya, Soo Donlin, Jessica Reial, Annmarie De Feis, Patricia Sinclair, Taida Santana. Top row, left to right: Chris Tyrell, Gary Webb, Michael Howell, Jorge Castro, John Bautista, Silvia Bravo, Linda Zimmerman, Lucy Vance Seligson, Jordan Strohl, Helen Crimmins, Richard Grant, Lucy Prettypaul, Grace Park, Nancy Gronwoldt, Nashwa Fawzy, Cesar Garcia, Igor Denisenko.

Additionally, among the treats that make The Home extra-special are the regular visits by residents’ industry peers and volunteers who come to share their talents. Most recently, cast members from the Off-Broadway show Old Jews Telling Jokes spent an hilarious afternoon in Englewood. A huge thanks to pianist Donald Corren and actors Audrey Lynn Weston, Marilyn Sokol, Bill Army and Lenny Wolpe for sharing their laughter and love!

To learn more about The Lillian Booth Actors Home, or to download an application, click here. Our residents love performers (after all, many of them still perform)! Visit this page to contact The Home and volunteer your talents, whatever they might be!

Run/Walk Wednesday: David Engelman!

Every Wednesday leading up to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Revlon Run/Walk (May 4 in New York, May 11 in Los Angeles), we’re sharing memories and celebrating our team members! This week we talk to The Actors Fund Communications Maestro (aka Director of Communications and Marketing) David Engelman, who’s topping last year’s “Song Requests” fundraising effort with a special one-night-only performance!

(And we’d love to have you answer these questions, too! If you’re one of our team members, contact our captain Caroline Parrone, and you could be featured on our blog!)

Actors Fund: Are you walking in “honor” or “memory” of someone special in this year’s EIF Revlon Run/Walk?
David Engelman: I’m walking in honor of my friend Michele, an actress who was so brave during her battle and is now thankfully in remission. She kept a positive attitude during the whole traumatic experience, and she continues to live her life with gusto. Also, I’m walking in memory of my friend Gail, who kept her beautiful smile right through to the end, always saying how thankful she was for good friends and a good laugh.

AF: Why do you walk with The Actors Fund Team?
DE: Full disclosure? I work there. Seriously, The Actors Fund helps hundreds of women in entertainment in health crisis every year. Artists are a vital part of our lives – they make us laugh, cry and make understanding what makes people tick a lot easier. I have great respect for all women who devote their lives to their art. It’s also  a small way to give back (and have some fun).

AF: Do you fundraise for RRW, or have anything special planned this year?
DE: Oh yeah! This year my friend Beth (a talented actress & singer) and I are doing a one-night-only fundraiser on May 6 in NYC! David & Beth, Together Again… Live! Anyone who donates to my Revlon Run/Walk page gets to come to this special one hour performance! My brother, a professional musician, is even coming out from Detroit to play for us! It’ll be a total laff-fest and a blast!

AF: Run or Walk, and why?
DE: I used to run, but now WALK! I like to sip coffee and chat along the way, not to mention and taking in the sites of spring in Central Park.

AF: We’re taking a vote… Suggest a Theme Song for this years’ team?
DE: Flashdance: “What a Feeling!” It’s all about following your passion. It also opens our May 6 show! (Plus, it just makes you wanna move.)

The EIF Revlon Run/Walk is an annual event that raises money and awareness for the fight against women’s cancers, and funds raised by The Actors Fund team supports The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative (PNWHI), created to address the myriad of concerns women face when dealing with a serious medical condition. Help us fight the fight by joining one of our teams (clickhere for NYC, here for LA), or making a pledge or donation on behalf of someone who’s walking with us. Your pledge will help fund important research into the cause and cure of women’s cancers, prevention, education and support service programs for those women battling cancer and their families.