Donkaphant or Elephonkey?

Nancy was honored to be invited to host the Donkaphant Film Festival at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Yes, that’s right—Donkaphant. Nancy suggested that perhaps it should be called Elephonkey! Put on by YOUnited Foundation, it is an independent film festival “for the people, by the people,” celebrating short films that feature stories about freedom, the political process and the trials and tribulations of people and our planet. The YOUnited Foundation’s mission is “to maximize the power of film and use the art form to inspire, educate, motivate and stimulate communities into action.” Other non-profit organizations were also represented and supplied films for the festival, including Happy House, Heal the Bay, Direct the Relief International, Jacaranda Foundation, Legalize LA, National Parkinson Foundation, Tree People, Youth Policy Institute, California Forward and others.

Part of the mission of the festival, co-founded by Justin Scot and Graham Sibley is to create awareness and encourage young people in particular to get out and vote and become active members of the citizenry. The theme of the evening was “Beat 1960!” with the hope that voter turnout would exceed that year’s impressive total.

Speakers on behalf of the presidential candidates were invited. Broadcast journalist and producer Giselle Fernandez represented the Obama campaign and Dutch Merrick spoke on behalf of the Ralph Nader candidacy. The McCain representative was unable to attend. Also present were politicians and notables including California State Senator Ron S. Calderon and former Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.

Nancy eloquently emphasized the importance of participating in the political process and how much we have at stake. She, of course, added humor (and a bit of Bart) to her remarks and was, as always, a crowd pleaser. She closed the evening thanking the filmmakers of the nine films screened, reinforced the message to vote and reminded people how important it is to support the philanthropic causes of their choice.

Nancy further noted, “A great man once said that 'A culture is only as great as its dreams and its dreams are dreamed by artists.' ”

Happy House Poker Tourney a Huge Success

When the dust settled, the champion was our very own Co-Executive Director Peter Kjenaas, but the winner was Happy House. Rounding out the top five for the tournament were Richard McCobb, Steve Garza, Glen Poole and Eric Mellinger, but we would like to extend a very hearty “Thank You” to everyone who attended, played, ate and contributed to a great cause.

The Simpsons Wins at Creative Arts Awards

Congrats to everyone who has made and continues to make the show such a tremendous success.

Happy House Illustrates The Way to Happiness®

The Illustrated Way to Happiness

Nancy’s non-profit Happy House, dedicated to building better families, has embarked on its biggest project yet. Happy House Co-Executive Director Carol Loweree has begun delivering workshops to local children using an illustrated version of The Way to Happiness, A Common Sense Guide to Better Living®.

This illustrated version, developed by long time Happy House supporter and filmmaker Tim Melchior, keeps the core concepts of the original book, but presents them in a simplified and “kid friendly” way.

Using a lesson plan she developed specifically for use with the illustrated booklet, Carol introduces children to various common sense morals such as “Do Not Steal” and “Be Worthy of Trust”. “One for one, these kids really enjoy getting this information,” Carol says,“and the lesson plan gives them practical applications and lots and lots of ways to use these concepts in real life.”

Nancy is over the moon about this project and feels that these workshops are a vital tool to help children and the whole family unit.

If you would like to participate in the project or for more information, please contact Adam@happyhouse.org or call 818-882-7483.

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Jamie Gold Joins as Poker Chairman for the September 20th Star-Studded Event

On September 20, 2008, Nancy Cartwright, the iconic voice of Bart Simpson and Honorary Mayor of Northridge, will once again host Monte Carlo night at her home. All profits from the event will go to Devonshire PALS. The last two years’ events helped to raise the funds needed to build a new Youth Center for at-risk kids. Groundbreaking is expected to take place by Summer 2008.

Jamie Gold, 2006 WSOP Main Event Champion, has signed on to Chair the Poker Committee, with expectations of poker pros in attendance including Mary Jones 2006 WSOP Ladies Event Champion who will be doing a Poker Boot Camp, Jennifer Harman, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Marco Traniello, Todd Brunson, Sammy Farha, Kenna James, Kristi Gazes and many more.

Celebrity attendance will be at an all-time high. Already on board as part of the hosting committee are Brad Garrett, Camryn Manheim, Sinbad, Tom Kenny, Mickey Dolenz, and Kirstie Alley, to name a few. Dorian Harewood will return to coach and host Black Jack.

Entertainment, a cigar bar hosted by Zeno Platinum, dinner, open bar and much more will be available for players and partygoers. – $500 per person includes Texas Hold ‘Em, Buy-in, food drinks and the party, while $250 is the party only price for non-players who simply want to have a great evening. The top five players will receive seats to a World Series of Poker Satellite Tournament.

Click here to  register on line
or
contact Leslie at 818-882-7336
 leslie@cartwrightentertainment.com 

Youth Center Ground Breaking!

LA City Councilman Greig Smith was honored and surprised when the renderings for the new Devonshire PALS Youth Center were unveiled bearing his name. The Center will be known as the COUNCILMAN GREIG SMITH LAPD DEVONSHIRE AREA YOUTH CENTER to honor his incredible tenacity and diligence which helped the project to succeed.

The new Center will have a gym, park environment, tutoring facilities along with a computer lab, and administrative services for those in jeopardy. There will be 52 security cameras surrounding the building and property to ensure the safety of its participants.

If you ever doubted our effectiveness in the community, you should have been at the June 5th ground breaking for the new PALS Youth Center that we have all worked hard to create and fund. It was nothing short of awesome. The stories of survival, largely due to the efforts of the amazing police officers and counselors at Devonshire PALS, were inspirational and just make us all want to do more. As Nancy put it, “We’ve got a great group of dedicated people here and we’ll just keep going.”

The current Center, albeit in one room until the new Center is completed, is handling 25- 30 kids a day and sending 50 more to camp. There is a waiting list of 700!!! The new Center has been four years in planning and is about to be built on the corner of Parthenia St. and Wilbur Ave. in Northridge. This site is due to the generosity of the Department of Water and Power which agreed to lease the property to Devonshire PALS for 28 years – at $1 per year!!

Thank you DWP!

Construction is expected to begin immediately with a proposed completion in 2009.

The September 20th Monte Carlo night, which Nancy hosts, and the July 14th PALS Golf tournament, in which Nancy will play, will be raising funds for the tools needed in the new facility, including sports equipment, books, computers, and much more.