Dr. Brian Kelly’s in-kind support for Denver Actors Fund now surpasses $100,000
About Natalie Oliver-Atherton: Natalie was enticed back to the local stage after a long absence to play Billie in The Arvada Center’s “Trav’lin, the 1930s Harlem Musical,” for which she won a 2019 True West Award. Her Billie was a survivor with a sharp tongue, a strong will, an open heart and a deep spirit. Said her director, Rod Lansberry: “Working with Natalie was a complete joy. She’s not only an amazing performer but an amazing woman. She made me laugh more than I have in years. And at the same time, she took this role completely to heart. Those tears were real.” Natalie also played Mother Wisdom in “Magdalene, Woman of Light” at the Denver Civic Theatre in 2008, which is a project she hopes to bring back. In the real world, Natalie is the founder and Executive Director of Namaste Works, a vocal and acting studio she runs with her husband, local actor Jeffrey Atherton. She describes herself as “Lightworker, Mother, Wife, Singer, Actress, People-lover, Change agent and Diva4God.”
Her medical story: Natalie was in serious need of dental care, but had no dental insurance of any kind.
How we have helped: The Denver Actors Fund has a partnering dentist in Dr. Brian Kelly DDS, who accepts a limited number of emergency cases each year as his personal, in-kind donation to The DAF (along with his kind associates at the Dental Center at Thornton Plaza). Dr. Kelly believes in taking any patient fully from disease to health, and he has now completed that process with Natalie. The cost of Natalie’s care would have come to $5,483 for any patient who was not a Denver Actors Fund referral. In addition, we paid a $468 third-party bill covering lab fees. That brings our overall support to Natalie in this case to $5,951.
It’s a milestone! With his service to Natalie, the overall value of Dr. Kelly’s in-kind support for qualified Denver Actors Fund referrals has now passed $100,000. Thank you, Dr. Kelly!
‘TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIX MY TEETH WAS NOTHING SHORT OF MANNA FROM HEAVEN.’
A message from Natalie: “Dr. Brian Kelly is worth his weight in gold. With kids to put through college and being an entrepreneur and running my own nonprofit, having this work for me was probably the last thing on my list. So to have the opportunity to fix my teeth through The Denver Actors Fund was nothing short of manna from heaven.”
How you can help us help us help more Colorado theatre artists: The Denver Actors Fund has sent out more than $85,000 in artist assistance in 2021, but because of the evident difficulty raising funds during a pandemic, we have brought in less than half of that back in from donations. If you would like to make a donation to help The Denver Actors Fund replenish, simply mail checks in any amount made out to Denver Actors Fund to P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO 80211. Or use this donation link, with our humble thanks.
Read testimonials from other Denver Actors Fund beneficiaries here
The Denver Actors Fund has now made $895,000 available to Colorado theatre artists.
Note: At The Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have their story told.
INTRODUCING THE KINDNESS FUND:
The Denver Actors Fund has launched an innovative new emergency COVID relief fund – with a fun, humanitarian twist. The $70,000 KINDNESS Fund provides $250 monthly stipends to qualified Colorado theatre artists whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic … when they perform a basic act of socially distanced kindness. Applications are being taken here.
ABOUT THE DENVER ACTORS FUND:
The Denver Actors Fund is a source of immediate, situational relief when members of the local theater community find themselves in medical need. In addition to $760,000 in financial relief, a team of more than 60 Denver Actors Fund volunteers have offered good neighborly assistance to more than 100 beneficiaries including meal prep and delivery, child care, transportation, errands, construction, pet-sitting and more. For more information, visit our web site at DenverActorsFund.Org.
HOW TO APPLY FOR AID:
To apply for Denver Actors Fund aid: Fill out this brief online form
NEW: AFFORDABLE MENTAL HEALTH CARE
The Denver Actors Fund has announced a major new collaboration with the Maria Droste Counseling Center of Colorado to provide affordable, professional health care to any qualifying Colorado theatre artist who needs it. Click here for information
GET INSTANT, FREE MEDICAL ADVICE: The Denver Actors Fund has launch of a major new FREE medical service for qualified Colorado theatre artists: We are partnering with Hippo Health to provide access to emergency medical evaluations via video conferencing with a Board-certified physician. Click to read more about this wonderful, innovative new partnership that will further improve the lives of artists!
MORE WAYS TO HELP:
DONATE ONLINE:
Go to our online giving site at: ColoradoGives.Org
DONATE BY MAIL:
Send checks made out to The Denver Actors Fund to:
P.O. Box 11182
Denver, CO 80211
VOLUNTEER:
Ever thought about taking a more active role in The Denver Actors Fund? Click here for more information
SHOP AT KING SOOPERS
Sign up for King Soopers’ Community Rewards Program and raise money for The DAF just by shopping for your groceries – and it doesn’t cost you an extra penny. It’s like the Amazon Smile Program. To sign up, simply go here and designate The DAF as your preferred non-profit. Each quarter, King Soopers sends us a donation based on how much our supporters have spent. Thanks to all of you who are shopping for The DAF.
SHOP AMAZONSMILE
When you shop on Amazon, there is a simple and automatic way for you to support The Denver Actors Fund, at no cost to you. Simply click on the “Get Started” button to the left. Once you sign up with The Denver Actors Fund as your preferred charity, Amazon will donate 0.5 percent the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. When you shop AmazonSmile instead of the regular Amazon, it’s still Amazon. You will find the exact same prices, selection and shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a potion of your proceeds to The Denver Actors Fund. The gift to us is not added to your bill. It comes from Amazon. Questions? Here’s more info.
COME TO (OR STREAM!) THE EVENTS THAT SUPPORT US:
AVAILABLE NOW: This year “Miscast,” the major annual fundraiser for The Denver Actors Fund, pivoted to “CAST 2020,” a professionally produced on-demand video concert featuring Colorado theatre artists performing in roles they WERE cast to play before the coronavirus shut down their shows. “CAST 2020” includes nearly a dozen showstopping songs by an all-star lineup of Colorado theatre performers:
- Rebecca Myers, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
- Lisa Kay Carter and Seth Dhonou, Arvada Center’s ‘Something Rotten’
- Kalyn Heffernan of Wheelchair Sports Camp with Michelle Rocqet, Phamaly Theatre Company’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’
- Scott Hurst, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s ‘Curtains’
- Mary Louise Lee, Vintage Theatre’s ‘Gypsy’
- McKayla Marso, BDT Stage’s ‘The Sound of Music’
- Cal Meakins, Forge Light Theatreworks’ ‘Bare: The Musical’
- Keith Hershman and Jessie Oblazny, Magic Moments’ ‘Take the High Road’
- Mercedes Perez, Lake Dillon Theatre’s ‘Man of La Mancha’
- Jenna Moll Reyes, Aurora Fox’s ‘Freaky Friday’
- Camryn Torres, Miners Alley Playhouse’s ‘Once on This Island’
For your donation of at least $20, you will be sent a link to the video within 24 hours. You can then watch the concert at your leisure. Reserve your link today
‘Miscast’ is the major annual fundraiser for The Denver Actors Fund. It produced each year by Robert Michael Sanders and Kenny Moten, with 100 percent of all proceeds going to The DAF. ‘CAST 2020’ was recorded primarily at Focus Event Studios in north Denver and edited by Ray Bailey TV. We are grateful to all of them for making this important event possible, and to you for watching.
ONGOING: “Waiting for Obama,” the audio version of DAF Founder John Moore’s play that was an official selection at the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival, has been released as way of raising funds for The Denver Actors Fund. A Colorado Springs family is convinced that Barack Obama is coming for their guns in the final weeks of his presidency – and they’re right. Featuring Laurence Curry, Drew Horwitz, Chris Kendall, Leslie O’Carroll, Jenna Moll Reyes, Jessica Robblee, Luke Sorge and Mare Trevathan. It was recorded by the staff of Parker Arts at the PACE Center as an in-kind donation to The Denver Actors Fund. Listen for FREE on all major podcasting platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean. Just by listening, you will be raising revenue for The DAF! Or, WATCH the recording as a pay-per-view video for $9.95 on Broadway on Demand. ‘Waiting for Obama’ was recorded by the staff of Parker Arts at the PACE Center and edited by Ray Bailey TV as in-kind donations to The Denver Actors Fund. The actors also donated their services.
ONGOING: “Quarantine Week by Weak” is a new photographic coffee-table book by Susannah McLeod and her wife, Chloe McLeod, who chronicled their home life during the COVID19 shutdown with a lighthearteded photo series documenting their lives during quarantine. They produced more than 35 sets of humorous photos comparing the beginning of quarantine to later in the “stay-at-home” period. Susannah pulled out her camera and we started to play,” said Chloe McLeod. As popularity for the series grew on Instagram and after a feature in Westword, the couple started exploring options to publish the series as a book to benefit The Denver Actors Fund. To order, visit mcleod9creative.com. This project is generously sponsored by The Albritton Family; Natalie Bowen and Jim Corbett; Dave Dyer; Julie Dyer; and Denise Gentilini and Lynette Prisner. Additional support provided by Angie Flachman and Sandy Birkey at The Publishing House and Sandra Lee Stuart.
VISIT OUR ONLINE MERCH STORE:
Click here to see how you can buy DAF products such as T-shirts, key chains, puzzles and much more.
