Ford’s Theatre Society announced that audiences and the company of A Christmas Carol raised $22,109.83 for Theatre Washington’s Taking Care Fund during performances of this season’s A Christmas Carol. Since 2009, the company has raised more than $900,000 for Washington-area charities, aiding thousands within the DC area who experience homelessness and hunger.
Donations were collected for the Taking Care Fund following curtain calls for performances from November 24 to December 22, 2021. Patrons could make a gift in person, by mail, or online at fords.org. Members of the company and crew for A Christmas Carol and Ford’s Theatre Society staff also contributed to the campaign.
Theatre Washington’s Taking Care Fund has provided and continues to provide grants to theater professionals throughout the disruption in available work caused by the pandemic. More than $800,000 has been distributed directly to local theatermakers since March 2020.
Since 2009, A Christmas Carol audiences, cast, crew, and staff have raised a total of more than $900,000 for Washington-area charities — Bright Beginnings, Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, House of Ruth, Food & Friends, N Street Village, Bread for the City, Covenant House Washington, Martha’s Table, Miriam’s Kitchen, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and Thrive DC — in the spirit of giving and charity expressed in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
“Year after year, these overwhelming gifts and kindness enhance the lives of those who keenly feel need in our region,” said Ford’s Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault. “This tradition of generosity shown by the company of A Christmas Carol and our patrons truly brings out the best of the DC community.”
“I’ve long admired this annual initiative from Ford’s Theatre as a beacon of how our Washington-area theaters are caring for our city in many ways beyond their productions,” said Amy Austin, President and CEO of Theatre Washington. “This year, when local theater professionals were in need, it was poignant to receive this act of generosity for the Taking Care Fund.”
Ford’s Theatre Society
Since reopening in 1968, more than a hundred years after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Ford’s Theatre has explored and celebrated Lincoln’s legacy and the American experience through theater and education. Under the leadership of Director Paul R. Tetreault, Ford’s Theatre has been recognized for the superior quality of its artistic programming. With works from the Tony-nominated Come From Away and nationally acclaimed Big River to the world premieres of Meet John Doe, The Heavens Are Hung In Black, Liberty Smith, Necessary Sacrifices, The Widow Lincoln, and The Guard, Ford’s Theatre is making its mark on the American theater landscape. For its accomplishments, the organization was honored in 2008 with the National Medal of Arts. For more information, visit fords.org.
Theatre Washington
Theatre Washington is an alliance of theater organizations, theatermakers, and theater supporters that promotes and nurtures a creative, equitable, healthy, and diverse regional theater community. Through partnerships and programs, we support the Washington, DC, region’s professional theater community to celebrate artistic achievement, strengthen the theatrical workforce, support institutional growth and advancement, and cultivate collective action.
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‘A Christmas Carol’ at Ford’s to benefit Theatre Washington Taking Care Fund
