Nearly 30,000 Hours Volunteered by The Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse in 2011

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Charles Dillingham, interim Executive Director) announced that The Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse presented a memento check in the amount of $701,991.08 representing the monetary value of 29,974 hours volunteered in 2011.  The check was presented at The Friends annual Volunteer Recognition event on March 8, 2012, and is on display in the Georgia McClay Friendship Center at The Playhouse.

“Even though The Pasadena Playhouse had just come back from some difficult financial times,  The Friends never lost their enthusiasm and love for The Playhouse,” stated Lenore Bond Almanzar, President of The Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse and Playhouse Board Member.  “They jumped back into volunteering at every opportunity and the hours just seem to grow.  Of course, this is nothing new because The Friends have consistently volunteered many hours since they were founded. We have been told by our peers at CAVORT (Conference About Volunteers Of Regional Theatre) that The Friends are one of the most dedicated and effective volunteer organizations in the nation. Already in these early months of  2012 The Friends have volunteered almost 8,000 hours.  So, we are on our way to another banner year!”

As the support group for the State Theatre of California, The Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse are extremely active in the day-to-day operations of the theatre. Although they are mostly a service group they also participate in fundraising efforts. Some of the services that The Friends provide included ushering, feeding the casts between Saturday performances, assistance with mailings, general office tasks, tours of The Playhouse, updating The Playhouse archives, selling Playhouse themed merchandise and publishing a newsletter for the members.

In the first quarter of 2012, The Friends committed to purchasing items needed by the staff.  Since January, they have  purchased new plants in the Engemann Family Courtyard, a wine refrigerator for the concessions stand, new computers for the box office, a new vaccum for the cleaning crew and dust collection equipment for the shop.  The hope is to continue this assistance so the staff and crew have a pleasant place to work with good equipment.

The Friends have been an active, intigral part of the theatre since 1979 and are "the heart and soul" of The Playhouse.  For more information about The Friends or to inquire about becoming a member, visit www.friendsofthepasadenaplayhouse.org.