A Message from the Kaufherr Members Resource Center

Dear SAG-AFTRA Member,

Chicago is an amazing city. We are blessed with an abundance of so many great things: theater, music, art, an incredible variety of international cuisine and a rich diversity of people. We also have the great fortune of being home to an outsized number of world-class performers and broadcasters who live and work here.

What most sets Chicago’s entertainment community apart is our willingness to help one another. The Kaufherr Members Resource Center has always been a resource for professional performers, but recently it has become an even more exciting hub of activity. So many talented performers come to “the Kaufherr,” as it has become known, that we sometimes don’t have enough space or equipment. It’s a good problem to have, but one we must address. We are currently partnering with different vendors to help with technical upgrades and consultations, applying for grants from two sources and looking for assistance and support from new and novel places. Next spring, we will present our third annual fundraising concert and silent auction at Mayne Stage. We are even selling movie passes to raise funds. We have also benefited from the addition of an outstanding coordinator at the center, Sam Paakkonen, who has developed bold new initiatives to upgrade equipment and expand services.

The center is a great place to hold auditions and casting sessions for local productions done under SAG-AFTRA contracts. In the spring, we started our new Incubator Program. Groups have begun to use the facility to plan productions, recruit talent and create and promote their work. This is leading to new opportunities for our local performers.

We are truly thrilled to be in the position we find ourselves, but we need your help to achieve several vital goals:

• Expand the number of hours per week our coordinator can work at the Kaufherr;
• Upgrade our audio booth and our video room. We are modernizing the equipment, making both facilities more sound proof and making them function and look like a professional studio;
• Expand our programming with the goal of having one or two events per week;
• Update our computers and put everything on a new server;
• Install new high-tech workstations; and
• Update and modernize the facility, including demolishing a currently under-used closet to create a more useful space in the main room.

We hope that this year you can help us meet our $30,000 goal, which will pay for many of the above initiatives. SAG-AFTRA members’ contributions in the past have helped ensure that the center has remained free to all union performers since 2001. We believe that we have spent that money judiciously and have achieved a lot on our limited budget. We need to make sure that, with the recent increase in production in Chicago, the KMRC continues to address the needs of our burgeoning performer population.

Your tax-deductible donation will be put to work taking us to the next level. Please give generously to help us make the KMRC the hub of creativity, innovation and networking for Chicago’s entertainment and broadcast community.

We wish you and yours a safe and joyous holiday season. All the best in 2015 and thank you for your kind consideration.

Sincerely,
Eileen M. Willenborg                 Eric Chaudron
President, KMRC, Inc.               SAG-AFTRA Chicago Executive Director
                                             KMRC, Inc. Board of Directors

P.S. Please participate by returning your tax-deductible contribution with the below Donor/Pledge form today or you can download it here. Remember, your donation is tax-deductible to the extent permitted. The KMRC is a 501(c)3.