Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/605448
LEGACY, LONGEVITY and LOOKING AHEAD F or 30 years, the Screen Actors Guild Foundation has been at the forefront of supporting SAG-AFTRA members as they launch new careers, advance existing ones, and confront economic and personal obstacles. Over the course of its history, the Foundation has given more than $17 million in emergency financial assistance, catastrophic health funds and scholarships; offered more than 5,000 free educational workshops and panels to SAG-AFTRA members; and read to more than 66 million children worldwide through its volunteer children's literacy programs BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) and Storyline Online (storylineonline.net). On Nov. 5, the SAG Foundation celebrated these achievements and its long history at its 30th Anniversary Celebration at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Creatives came together to pay tribute to the vision and tenacity of leading industry professionals who champion not only the arts, but the artists themselves, creating opportunities for SAG-AFTRA members across a broad spectrum. The Foundation honored Leonardo DiCaprio with its esteemed Actors Inspiration Award for his artistic and career achievements, and his significant philanthropic work. The actor accepted his award stating, "For 30 years, the SAG Foundation has operated with a supportive spirit, furthering the performance community through training, education and other resources that cultivate the talents of aspiring actors young and old, making a difference in the lives of the public by providing literacy programs to children and communities across the country, and in doing so making it easier for actors like me to give back." In addition, the inaugural Patron of the Artists Awards were presented to writer- producer-director Lee Daniels, producer Megan Ellison and director-producer Rob Marshall, three industry leaders whose Celebrates 30th Anniversary and Gets a New Name 40 SAG-AFTRA | Fall 2015 | SAGAFTRA.org Actor Leonardo DiCaprio thanks the SAG-AFTRA Foundation as he accepts the Actors Inspiration Award. CHRISTOPHER POLK/GETTY IMAGES