With Thanksgiving almost here, efforts are underway around the country to collect food, clothing and other goods for those in need, and AICP is doing its part with the annual AICP Gives campaign. This year marks the first year the food and goods drive will be conducted in Dallas, joining efforts in L.A., Austin and New York,.
AICP Gives got its start in 2010, put in motion by the West chapter board in an effort spearheaded by Ali Brown, VP, executive producer at PRETTYBIRD; Jessie Nagel, co-founder of communications agency Hype; and Mikel Elliott, co-founder and CEO of the production services company Quixote. Since then it’s helped thousands of people with its donations and that number is sure to grow as the campaign expands to new cities within different chapters.
“A hallmark of our industry is generosity, and it’s especially powerful to see that spirit of caring harnessed in a unified effort,” Nagel, who continues as a West Board member, commented. “With the addition of Austin in 2017 and Dallas in 2018, AICP Gives continues to grow in scale and scope as we reach towards a national initiative of goodwill, kindness and sharing.”
In both L.A. and New York, AICP Gives donations are forwarded to Gobble Gobble Give, a nonprofit that’s fed and provided care packages to thousands of needy families and individuals for the last 21 years. Founded by a group of friends in the Echo Park neighborhood of L.A., it’s expanded to communities in cities like Las Vegas, San Diego, New York, Boca Raton, Detroit and Nashville.
Among the items that are encouraged for donation are canned or packaged foods that can be consumed without cooking, preferably with flip-top packaging to avoid the need for a can opener. Also on the list are new clothing items, particularly packages of socks; used coats and blankets in good condition; new towels; unopened soap and shampoo bottles; toothbrush and toothpaste kits; and miniature can openers.
More info on AICP Gives, including lists of the drop-off locations in L.A. and New York and coordinator contacts in Austin and Dallas, can be found here. In L.A. and New York, the locations includes production houses, editorial shops and visual effects studios. In L.A., the list also includes Quixote facilities in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Sun Valley and Pacoima.
In Austin, drop offs can be arranged by contacting Brandon Tapp, EP at Lucky 21. In Dallas, drop-offs can be coordinated through producer Laura Lyons.
AICP members–indeed, all industry partners and affiliates–are encouraged to collect donations both on sets and in offices. Deadlines and final drop-off dates will vary by city, and those details will be posted on the AICP Gives web page in in anticipation of Gobble Gobble Give’s Thanksgiving Day distribution.
Nagel said the choice of Gobble Gobble Give was a natural. “They’re scrappy and independent, like us, and so it felt like the right match. We hoped that the people they serve would feel the impact of our contributions in a big way, and they have. This is a relationship that’s grown since we first launched AICP Gives.”
In addition to PRETTYBIRD’s Brown, Nagel credits EP Rick Fishbein, now with Element but previously with Green Dot Films, as a key player in the creation of the effort. She also credits Quixote, the bicoastal production services and studio rental company, for supporting AICP Gives from the outset.
With the new campaign efforts in Texas, AICP Gives has provided support for Hurricane Harvey victims, an Austin-based women’s shelter and the North Texas Food Bank near Dallas.
In New York, AICP Gives partners with Wits End, the production equipment and rental company, which handles pick-ups at drop-off locations in the city. In L.A., production rental shop Line 204 has joined in to provide hub location pick-ups to be delivered to Quixote, which is handling deliveries to GGG. Postal, the post production studio that’s a sister shop to Humble, has contributed notably as well, designing this year’s AICP Gives poster.
What’s next? It’s time to pitch in and give, Nagel summed up. “AICP Gives is a great opportunity to try and spread a little joy at holiday time,” she noted. “It’s always amazing to see our industry come together for people in need.”
