Actors’ Fund of Canada
The fund’s 19th Annual Big Swing Golf Tournament was held in Milton at the Royal Ontario Golf Club on June 15, and the 144 industry professionals and others who took part raised $99,070 for the Fund. David Hope, the Executive Director of the Actors’ Fund of Canada, notes the money raised constitutes a strong contribution to their yearly budget.
In a press release Hope said the golf tournament has grown to play a large role in the organization’s annual fundraising efforts and that the golfers help “to raise the $500,000 which the Fund distributes yearly to help entertainment industry members in crisis.”
The Fund originated in 1958 and it’s been helping Canadian entertainment industry professionals since; in the past 10 years alone the registered charity’s website notes it has paid out “over $4.5 million in rent payments, grocery money, utility payments and other basic living expenses” for creative professionals in need.
Beneficiaries include actors, musicians, stage managers, singers, writers, costumers, sound recorders, hair and make-up artists and other production and technical staff who’ve fallen on hard times, often due to injury, illness or other difficult circumstances.
“A career in the entertainment industry seems like a dream come true for many people,” the website notes. “The all too frequent reality is that entertainment professionals face a precarious livelihood after years spent perfecting and practicing their crafts.
“The Fund believes that the risks that Canadian artists take as they create some of the finest live and recorded productions in the world should be recognized, valued and supported by all Canadians.”
Golfing for charity
The tournament itself is well-attended each and every year and it features a raft of special prizes for participants. The prizes are donated by a host of sponsor businesses and given out for feats such as a hole in one, women’s and men’s longest drive and women and men’s closest to the pin shot.
Noted stage and screen actor Fiona Reid is the president of the Actor’s Fund and she issued a thank-you to the people and sponsors that make the golf tournament happen.
“The Actors’ Fund of Canada represents the best of what we do as a community,” Reid wrote. “And our annual Big Swing Golf Tournament is the finest illustration of that.
“It is my pleasure…to express the sincere thanks of our entire Board of Directors to all the sponsors, donors, players, staff and volunteers who make the annual Big Swing Golf Tournament such a great success.”
The Fund does not receive support from the government and all the money it raises comes from individuals and private organizations. Often members of the profession, actors and production staff and others, provide donations to help their fellow industry professionals.
You can make a donation at the Fund’s website.
