Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/555596
Burke and Larson's stories are not unique. Since 1985, the SAG Foundation has been giving back and supporting SAG-AFTRA members in need with a variety of special benefits. The SAG Foundation has granted more than $11 million through the Emergency Assistance and the Catastrophic Health Fund to SAG-AFTRA members over the last 30 years. The SAG Foundation also understands the importance of education. The Foundation offers scholarship assistance to SAG-AFTRA members and their dependents, helping them pursue higher education. It has awarded more than $6 million in John L. Dales Scholarships over the last 30 years, making a college education possible for union families, even when finances were stretched. Al Scaglione became a SAG member in 1969, but when his daughter was set to enter college, Scaglione's acting work was at a low. The SAG Foundation offered a helping hand. "[My daughter] Arrica was eligible to apply for the Dales scholarship and was a Dales recipient four years in a row," he said. "She wouldn't have been able to attend and graduate from USC Film School magna cum laude had it not been for the Foundation." In addition to giving back to union artists, the SAG Foundation offers SAG-AFTRA members a way to make a difference by volunteering their talents off-screen. The art of storytelling can reach the youngest members of our communities and encourage them to pursue their own dreams. That's why SAG-AFTRA members donate their time to the SAG Foundation's children's literacy programs BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) and Storyline Online. More than 1 million children have been read to in the classroom through the BookPALS program in six branches nationwide, and more than 65 million children worldwide have accessed Storyline Online, where they find new pathways to explore the love of reading and storytelling. The heart of the SAG Foundation is the vast community of union artists who both volunteer and take advantage of the array of free career-enhancing programs the Foundation has to offer. In an ever-changing entertainment landscape, it's essential for SAG-AFTRA members to stay on top of the latest technologies and industry information. That's why the SAG Foundation operates two celebrated voiceover labs: the Don LaFontaine Voiceover Lab at the Actors Center in Los Angeles, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation Voiceover Lab at the Actors Center in New York. For artists a bit behind the technology curve, the Foundation also offers free software classes in its state-of- the-art computer labs in both Actors Centers in Los Angeles and New York. "The SAG Foundation is not just another foundation — we're your Foundation," said SAG Foundation President JoBeth Williams. "We know you have to take risks to get where you want to be, and we know that it can be tough to do it alone. We offer every union performer a wealth of tools to use to stay on course, and we're here for you — that's what we do." Over the last 30 years, more than 300,000 SAG-AFTRA members have attended more than 5,000 free performers programs, including Casting Access workshops, Conversations Q&As and career retrospectives, and The Business panels, where they learn from top industry professionals. In the spring of 2016, the Foundation will complete its Actors Center in New York by christening a new screening room in the IT ALL STARTED IN 1985 WITH THE GOAL TO GIVE BACK. 1985 1993 1996 2001 SAG establishes the Screen Actors Guild Foundation as a nonprofit organization. It assumes responsibility of the Emergency Assistance program for SAG members. The SAG Foundation creates BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools), a volunteer children's literacy program, started by actors Barbara Bain in Los Angeles and Mary Stuart in New York. The SAG Foundation establishes the Catastrophic Health Fund to continue SAG Health Plan coverage for eligible SAG members and their dependents experiencing life-threatening illness or injury. The SAG Foundation establishes the LifeRaft program, providing education to SAG members on the business side of acting. SAG FOUNDATION CATASTROPHIC HEALTH FUND SAGAFTRA.org | Summer 2015 | SAG-AFTRA 27 SINCE 1985 … $17 million in financial and medical assistance, including $6 million in scholarships to SAG-AFTRA families