[e-drive][E-DRIVE; ACTORS' FUND LAUNCHES 'MORE THAN APPLAUSE' CAMPAIGN]

[Darlene Bullard]

Please direct all responses and inquiries directly to the theatre or
association listed in the e-drive notice.
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Actors' Fund "More Than Applause" Campaign Set To Launch October 20

TORONTO, August 1, 2003  - The Actors' Fund of Canada has refreshed the
concept of a national "Actors' Fund week" with the first annual
"MoreThan
Applause" awareness and fundraising campaign, scheduled for October 20 -
26, 2003.

"We've had a huge increase in demand for the Fund's help over the past
year - more people are in much deeper trouble than we've ever seen
before", said Actors' Fund president Bruce Clayton, noting that the
Fund's
unaudited figures for the year ending March 31, 2003 show an increase of
$140,000 from the previous year's total of $236,000 in emergency
financial
assistance delivered to entertainment industry professionals. "We can
deal
with that, but we have to match that with increased fundraising so that
we
can maintain our financial stability for the long-term."

Individuals and organizations from all sectors of the entertainment
industry are encouraged to participate in the campaign week through
spreading the word about the Fund, making donations or holding special
events. "There are all kinds of ways to get involved," says Bruce
Clayton.
"Have a bake sale, do curtain speeches and pass the hat in your
audience,
do a 50/50 draw with your cast, sell some autographed posters, put
together a cabaret featuring people from your show, or get everyone in
the
cast signed up for payroll donations for that week." Many more ideas,
resources and testimonials are available on the Fund's web site or by
calling the Fund's toll-free phone line.

Clayton sees the More Than Applause campaign as an evolution of the
poplular Equity Fights AIDS campaign and emphasizes the direct
connection
the Fund has with the members of the entertainment industry who support
it: "We'll always help people living with HIV and AIDS - that's still
really important to us, but we want people to see that we're about other
things, too. Whether it's breast cancer, or heart disease, or a bad
accident or any of the hundred other things that can push someone in our
business into financial hardship, we look after our own. A lot of people
come to us after they've given up on trying to get a loan at the bank or
on applying for welfare. We put our entertainment industry people at the
front of the line and give them the kind of respect you can only get
from
someone else who's in the business and understands what you're going
through."

For more information about the Actors' Fund or the "More Than Applause
Campaign" call the Fund toll-free at 1-877-399-8392 or visit the Fund's
web site at www.actorsfund.ca.

-30-


Media contact: David Hope, Executive Director
Phone: (416) 975-0304, toll-free 1-877-399-8392
E-mail: execdir at actorsfund.ca


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Communications Department
Canadian Actors' Equity Association
44 Victoria Street, 12th Floor
Toronto, ON M5C 3C4
Tel: 416-867-9165
Fax: 416-867-9246
e-mail: communications at caea.com