BIG FISH THE MUSICAL HOSTS FOSTER YOUR DREAM

Posted on November 23, 2013 by admin in Blog, Events

Big Fish invites Foster Your Dream

As the sign says, Foster Your Dream was invited to see BIG FISH, the MUSICAL and it was BEAUTIFUL and GLORIOUS! 90 happy and lucky children got to take in the Broadway Show on a Saturday Night!

The singing and dancing and story were the favorite parts for the children. One little girl announced her favorite was the Mermaid. For the adults the amazing performances (some will probably garner a Tony Award) the sets and the poignant story brought us to tears!

As usual, we can not show you the faces of the children until we get permission, but while we were waiting outside it began to snow and I snapped a few stealthy photos while the children were enchanted by the first falling flakes of the season.

Waiting for Big Fish watching snowflakes

Happy But Shy!

Darrell Williams and Deidra Sutton lead the way for ACS while Sue Wolf and Sarahbeth Grossman and Donald Yonker volunteered to greet and organize the groups as they arrived. We will update this post with more information but the Bronx and Queens were handsomely represented in this magical outing!

The Greeting Committee

Darrell Williams, Sue Wolf, Deidra Sutton

Many thanks to all who donated money, tickets, time and energy. Katie Pope and Heidi Neven you were angels to make this happen. As was Sean (house manager) and the box office staff! To the Producers and the Cast and Crew and Orchestra we say “the show was AMAZING and we all had the BEST TIME! THANK YOU!”~ Sue Wolf Founder

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ANNIE HUGE SUCCESS SPAWNS BIG FISH TO INVITE KIDS TO BROADWAY

Posted on November 19, 2013 by admin in Blog, Events

The most wonderful thing happened to Foster Your Dream last week. A Broadway Company REACHED OUT TO US TO INVITE US TO SEE THEIR SHOW. Wait for it … wait for it …. BIG FISH has invited Foster Your Dream Kids and Caregivers to see their show this Saturday Night on Broadway. What an incredible gift for the Holidays.

The Company Manager of ANNIE, Heidi Neven, chose to make a connection for us, totally unsolicited, to Katie Pope who is the Assistant Company Manager of BIG FISH the Musical. Katie Pope reached out to FYD on Friday … totally out of the blue … and extended the generous invitation!

I’m not sure that you kind folks reading this article understand the magnitude of such a gift. When I first started my mission of taking Kids in the ACS system and their families to see real, first class theatre on Broadway, I was mostly ignored. The one time I was hung up on, I almost gave up trying. To purchase 100 tickets for any Broadway Musical these days, even at a group rate, would cost between 4000 – 10,000 dollars. But Broadway Theatre is special. It takes a lot of courage for investors to pony up millions of dollars and take a leap of faith to put on a show. There are hundreds of people working hard to make the event shine. The theatre district is a-buzz with activity that is generated by the money, blood, sweat and tears of a very special community. So I kept going.

Even though I described the not-so-good behavior of some of this awesome community, I found that many, many people spent time and energy with me on the phone trying to help me brainstorm ways I could get these kids to see a show! Because our theatre goers are unique, many of the audience-outreach programs didn’t apply. Having kids participate in an ongoing theatre development program that required classes and commitments was out of the question due to myriad reasons. Our kids are often moved around. They can be shuttled from home to home from family members to foster families. Many grandparents are the primary caregivers and this aging population is all of a sudden thrown into child rearing 2.0 just when they had planned to sit quietly and enjoy the spoils of their long lives! Often family members are in another state. Trying to describe the unique nature of the needs FYD exists to meet, I often tried to explain that “we are a little bit like Make A Wish Foundation for healthy children in the Foster Care System. Please help us one dream at a time!”

My feeling always was that once the word got out into the Broadway community, my wish for this awesome group of citizens would be realized and a steady stream of tickets would be made available to us so young minds could be ‘opened up’ and magical theatre could be ‘poured in.’ I also knew that harried caregivers would benefit greatly from being able to sit back and take a breath while enjoying a show. Thanks to the benevolent and tight knit Broadway Theatre Community my dream seems to be coming to fruition and for this I will forever be grateful.

BIG FISH, here we come! Because of you and all those who have paved the way to the hallowed Broadway Theaters, we feel special and loved. Thanks for flinging the doors open. BRAVO! ~~ Sue Wolf, Founder.

ANNIE on Broadway hosts Foster Your Dream

Posted on November 12, 2013 by admin in Blog, Events

11-12-13 was the luckiest day for 95 Foster Your Dream Kids who got to sit in the orchestra and enjoy the Broadway Musical ANNIE!

Darrell Williams, Sue Wolf, Annie poster, Deidra Sutton

Until we can get the approval from some of the children and their families, we’re posting a few photos of Sue Wolf, the Founder, Darrell Williams and Deidra Sutton from the Administration for Children’s Services’ Office of Community Partnerships, Valerie Worthy from Inwood House and Robert Dragotta and Melanie Roy Friedman who volunteered their time and services for Foster Your Dream’s Theatre Project.

Thanks to Sarahbeth Grossman and Sally Horchow who actually fell in love with the idea of taking our kids to see ANNIE and made it happen like no one else could.

There will be more stories forthcoming.

Robert Dragotta makes friends with everyone!

Happy Theatre Goers!

Many of the children were shy and didn’t want to be photographed. Inwood house came. St. Dominic’s house came.

Valerie Worthy from Inwood House.

sue-wolf-melanie-roy-friedman-fosteryourdream

Melanie Roy Friedman volunteers with Foster Your Dream’s Theatre Project

One Dream Kid gets to meet the Star!

Beautiful Lucia, who’s caregiver agreed to let us show her, got a chance to meet THE Annie after the show. More photos to follow when permissions have been granted. Thank you thank you thank you to all those who made this happen.

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE IF YOU CAN HERE:

https://www.causes.com/campaigns/13061-give-foster-youth-opportunities-and-a-dream

Holland Taylor Dazzles Dream Kids

Posted on June 16, 2013 by admin in Blog, Events | 2 Comments

Holland Taylor Embraces our Dream Kids and Staff!

Holland Taylor dazzles our Dream Kids in the first, ever, Foster Your Dream event! Was it Ann Richards, the Governor of Texas that Ms. Taylor portrays … or was it Holland herself who took a one-on-one interest in the kids who stayed afterwards to meet her in person on the Sunday Matinee of “ANN” at the Vivian Beaumont theatre in New York city? It was almost hard to tell because near the end of the play, Holland (as Ann) says the line: “One of the things I miss the most about not being Governor, is meeting with the school children.” It was uncanny to see life imitating art as our afternoon unfolded! After a sizzling tour-de-force performance, Ms. Holland, who was only scheduled to sweep in, say ‘hello’ and sweep out, stayed a very long time and took special interest in our kids. She put her arm around one enthralled girl and had several (not just one) heartfelt discussions with this particular Dream Kid! The play, which Ms. Taylor wrote, has the effect of inspiring the audience. But when the brilliant actress, who spends two hours by herself on stage, noticed a spark had been ignited in several of our kids’ eyes, she happily dug in and made them feel as if they were the most important people in the world. She patiently allowed us to take photo after photo with her. She invited us up on the Broadway Stage. She made a memory for us which we will never forget. Benjamin Endsley Klein, the director of this magnificent theatre piece, gave a mini master-class to another very special teen who came on her own, with no caregiver, because she has an interest in pursuing acting. Several of the ACS coordinators and an intern were able to listen in as he told her tips on how to audition as well as regaling us all with an account of the journey “ANN” took to make it to Broadway. Mr. Klein was supposed to go to a rehearsal, but when he heard Foster Your Dream was coming to see the play, he re-scheduled in order to be available to us. Producer Sarahbeth Grossman helped facilitate all of this because she has the heart of an angel and understands that one kid inspired in theatre is worth hours of effort. She coordinated the many people involved in the production end and allowed us the ability to have a private talk-back. She made us all feel special and we thank her. Executive Producer Kevin Bailey started the whole ball rolling many months ago. Without him, we would have not been given such a special entree. He went to bat for us with the heart of a lion. Deidra Sutton, Darrell Williams from ACS (Administration of Children’s Services) and Emanuel, their intern, put hours of effort and love into getting two agencies involved in our first outing. Very special thanks go out to them for the magic and positivity they showed during the entire event. We hosted Inwood House and Saint Dominic’s House and we send out special thanks to Mses. Worthy, Giordana, Feliciano and Goris for making sure the girls and several young fathers were able to come see the show. Even though a group didn’t make it to the theatre due to the E train and F train difficulties, the afternoon was a great success and there were a lot of smiles, which you will see in the photos below! Ms. Taylor may not realize it, but her willingness to share her time and to be with us was a priceless gift. To make us feel special and worthy was something that will continue to bloom for generations. As Ann Richards was an inspiration to Holland Taylor, Ms. Taylor is an inspiration to us. Ann would be smiling. We certainly are! Thank you. PLEASE GIVE IF YOU CAN BY CLICKING ON THIS!

~Sue Wolf & everyone at Foster Your Dream.

Welcome!

Holland Taylor finds a new friend.

Holland Taylor takes 2 Dream Kids under her wing!

Benjamin Endsley Klein gives a mini-master class on directing!

On the Stage at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center with the Director of “ANN”

Administration of Children’s Services Heros!

Sue Wolf, Founder FYD and NY ACS heros!

PLEASE GIVE IF YOU CAN: note: at the moment, there is only one way to donate. http://www.causes.com/actions/1731752-give-foster-youth-opportunities-and-a-dream (click this link)

Ann on Broadway Event

Posted on June 3, 2013 by admin in Blog, Events

We have the most exciting news! “ANN” on Broadway, starring the amazing Holland Taylor, has invited 60 Foster Teens and their Foster Families for a matinee at the Theatre! We are coordinating this wonderful trip with ACS in New York (Administration of Children’s Services). It is our VERY FIRST EVENT EVER! What an honor. Ms. Taylor stars as the dynamic Ann Richards, who was the feisty and colorful Governor of Texas. An added bonus is that Holland Taylor has been nominated for a Tony Award for this performance and we are lucky enough to be able to bring our Dream Kids to this highly acclaimed play.

Many thanks to Diedra Sutton, Darrell Williams, Jamie Kendall, Sarahbeth Grossman and Kevin Bailey who are coordinating and underwriting this event. More news and more thanks to come!

Birthday Wish on Causes

Posted on February 23, 2013 by admin in Blog, Fundraising

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY IF YOU ARE ABLE!!!

Thank you to all that helped my Birthday Wish on Causes! (closed now) Last year my personal mission was to take Foster Kids to the theatre. This is an opportunity that rarely presents itself to kids and their guardians. We have several “ins” in the theatre world, so we will have private tours before and after the show. Check out our blog and our events to see how YOU have helped!!! THANK YOU TO ALL.

Here’s the link to donate:

http://www.causes.com/actions/1731752-give-foster-youth-opportunities-and-a-dream

Stay tuned …