Financial-aid recipient: Jihad Milhem is a Denver actor who was just nominated for a Henry Award for his performance as John Proctor in Miners Alley Playhouse’s “The Crucible.” He is currently appearing in “All’s Well That Ends Well” for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, where he has performed for six seasons, including playing King Priam’s son, Paris, in 2016’s “Troilus & Cressida.” Jihad is member of the Butterfly Effect Theatre of Colorado and also has appeared with the Black Actors Guild, the Arvada Center, Colorado Springs Theatreworks, The Edge Theatre, square product theatre, the LIDA Project and more. Jihad’s play “Mosque” was recently produced by the Black Actors Guild. Jihad moved to Denver after having worked in New York City and Philadelphia for 12 years.
His original medical story: Jihad was assaulted after performing in the play “K: The Rise and Fall of the New York Klub Kids” with Pandemic Theatre Collective in 2016. His knee was dislocated, and his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was completely torn, requiring reconstruction. Because Jihad was unable to return to his restaurant job as he continued his rehabilitation, the Denver Actors Fund made $900 available to help Jihad with basic living expenses as he recovered. (Side note: The Colorado Shakespeare Festival staff was kind enough to incorporate Jihad’s injury into the story, allowing him to continue to perform in “Troilus & Cressida.”)
The next chapter: Earlier this year, the DAF supported Jihad through a dental odyssey that involved two dentists and a third-party lab bill totaling $1,984. One of those dentists was DAF Board member Dr. Brian Kelly, whose $865 in services were provided to Jihad as personal, in-kind donation to The Denver Actors Fund. Including a DEAR Fund pandemic stipend and other services, the DAF’s overall support for Jihad to date is now $5,794.
‘WORDS CANNOT BEGIN TO EXPRESS THE GRATITUDE AND RESPECT I HAVE FOR THE DENVER ACTORS FUND.’
A message from Jihad: “Words cannot begin to express the gratitude and respect I have for the Denver Actors Fund. So many actors like myself would be lost without the help the DAF provides. The DAF has been a blessing in my life since I first received aid back in 2016 for my knee. I’ve most recently received amazing care from Dr. Kelly and with a mental-health therapist I’ve been seeing through DAF’s Maria Droste counseling program. As you can see, the DAF has changed my life for the better, again and again and again. I can never convey the gratitude I have for DAF as an organization and for the larger Coloradp theater community it represents. I am forever humbled and grateful for what they’ve done, and continue to do, for me. Thank you.”
How you can help us replenish: If you would like to help us replenish, simply mail checks made out to The Denver Actors Fund to P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO 80211. Or use this donation link. Your donation will be applied to the DAF’s general fund.
(Note: At the Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have his or her story told.)
Read more Denver Actors Fund testimonials by clicking here
HOW YOU CAN HELP US REPLENISH:
To DONATE the Denver Actors Fund, please CLICK HERE (with our humble thanks)
ABOUT THE DENVER ACTORS FUND:
Video above: The Denver Actors Fund receives the Colorado Theatre Guild’s 2016 Community Impact Award.
The Denver Actors Fund is a modest source of immediate, situational relief when members of the local theater community find themselves in medical need. To date, the Fund has allocated more than $980,000 to artists facing medical need. In addition to financial relief, a team of more than 100 Denver Actors Fund volunteers offers good neighborly assistance 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 here
MORE WAYS TO HELP:
DONATE BY MAIL:
Send checks made out to the Denver Actors Fund to:
P.O. Box 11182
Denver, CO 80211
SUPPORT THE EVENTS THAT SUPPORT US:
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 light-hearteded 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:
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