It’s all about giving with the 3rd Annual It’s a Wonderful Life Table Read
I find the chill in the air has put me the holiday season feeling with The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC) 3rd annual benefit! This year’s Partners are Turner Classic Movies and Whatnot to raise funds for the Special Needs Family Community to promote mental health and enrichment programs. This year the Ed Asner Family Center honors Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow and they are bringing a few of their friends for a table read of “It’s a Wonderful Life”! They are being recognized for their advocation for the special needs community using their art and generosity.
I am amazed and deeply grateful that this incredible group of actors have volunteered their time and talent to support The Ed Asner Family Center, a cause near and dear to my dad’s heart. He would be so very proud. I would like to thank this year’s honorees, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, for their generous dedication and commitment to the autism community. In addition, my heartfelt thanks to Turner Classic Movies and Whatnot for partnering with us this year and helping to make this very special event a huge success.
Matt Asner, son of Ed Asner & Co-Founder of The Ed Asner Family Center
It’s a one-night-only live virtual table read on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at 5:00 PM PST with a cast including Brendan Fraser, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, JK Simmons, Jean Smart, Ken Jeong, Jim Beaver, Brent Spiner, Phil Lamarr, Chelsea Darnell, Ben Mankiewicz, and more! The virtual table read asks for a minimum donation of $29.99 to create a wonderful holiday memory with your family and friends for the classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Gala which will have an intermission that includes a silent auction, music, and cast reunions between Fraser and Leslie Mann of George of the Jungle and Rogen and Judd Apatow, the comedic team behind cult classics like Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and TV’s “Freaks and Geeks.” The cast will also include the Social Director of TEAFC, Chelsea Darnell who will play a narrator, and autistic actors Dwayne Cox, Max Gadson, Spencer Harte, Lucas Salusky, and Hannah Schindler. Victor Nelli (TV’s “Superstore,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) is set to direct.
Tickets will be available at: http://teafc.org/wonderful.
As the parents of autistic children, Matt and I saw a desperate need to create a safe and welcoming community for Special Needs families. The Center provides arts and vocational enrichment and critical mental health services to these individuals and their families, creating a unique space to learn, interact and thrive. In that spirit, I’m thrilled to announce that we have developed an incredible, interactive and inclusive adult day care program that combines job training, life skills and expressive arts to foster self-confidence, independence and purpose.
Navah Asner, Co-Founder, The Ed Asner Family Center
What makes this possible are the 2022 Gala sponsors that include Funko, Tito’s Vodka, Trebek Family Foundation, Robert & Renee Kelly Foundation, United Talent Agency, Whatnot, Turner Classic Movies, Jeff and Leslie Frost on behalf of Bristol Circle Entertainment, Warner Brothers Television Group, and Comcast NBCUniversal.
The Ed Asner Foundation has partnered with Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to present this year’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” Gala. Tom Bergeron will appear on TCM as a guest programmer on November 29. Additionally, “It’s a Wonderful Life” returns to cinemas nationwide 12/18 & 12/21 as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics Series. For more information, please visit www.fathomevents.com.
The partnership with social commerce platform Whatnot builds upon The Ed Asner Center’s auction on the live shopping platform this past September, where celebrity-signed Funko Pops from Keanu Reeves, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Rosario Dawson, and more were auctioned on the platform. The social auction was the first of its kind for both The Ed Asner Center and Whatnot. All proceeds were donated to the Ed Asner Family Center to help special needs families. For more information on Whatnot, please visit https://www.whatnot.com.
2022 Gala sponsors include Funko, Tito’s Vodka, Trebek Family Foundation, Robert & Renee Kelly Foundation, United Talent Agency, Whatnot, Turner Classic Movies, Jeff and Leslie Frost on behalf of Bristol Circle Entertainment, Warner Brothers Television Group, and Comcast NBCUniversal. For information on becoming a sponsor, please visit http://teafc.org/wonderful.
FOR TICKETS, SPONSORSHIP & EVENT INFORMATION: http://teafc.org/wonderful
ABOUT THE ED ASNER FAMILY CENTER:
The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC) is an all-encompassing resource dedicated to elevating the lives of special needs individuals and their families. The Center is a nonprofit, co-founded by Navah Paskowitz-Asner and Matthew Asner. Our mission is to be a Center of acceptance, and enrichment for those seeking wholeness in all attitudes of life. Our support extends beyond the special needs individual to the entire family, through a wide variety of mental health services and groundbreaking interactive programs. The center proudly makes it a policy to employ Autistic self-advocates as camp counselors, educators, and assistants. For a closer look at our programs and community, visit TEAFC.org.
Facebook:www.facebook.com/edasnerfamilycenter
Twitter: www.twitter.com/edasnercenter
Instagram: www.instagram.com/edasnerfamilycenter
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@edasnerfamilycenter
ABOUT WHATNOT:
Whatnot is the largest social commerce platform in the U.S., connecting like-minded buyers and sellers through the excitement of live shopping across any category – from collectibles like trading cards to comics, fashion, sneakers, and more. The platform couples rigorous seller vetting with a focus on community to create a safe space for people to share their passions with others. Today, Whatnot’s top sellers earn up to eight figures a year using the platform. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, YC Continuity, and CapitalG, Whatnot’s valuation sits at $3.7B.
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