‘Visionaries’ at Assistance League improving children’s lives for 100 years
“Visionaries“ not only describes the women, past and present, responsible for one of our nation’s important charitable undertakings, it also is the name of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) program, “Visionaries” that, since 1995, has been highlighting the rarely told stories of nonprofit organizations around the world.
featured in “Visionaries” broadcast on PBS.
Hosted by actor Sam Waterston, each show is a documentary about people who dedicate their time to the service of others. This year, the show will feature Assistance League of Los Angeles (ALLA), in its 100th year of improving the lives of impoverished children in the community through “philanthropy, dedicated service and compassionate programs,” as is accurately written in the League’s mission statement.
To preview the new documentary, ALLA members, friends and supporters gathered on Feb. 2 at the historic Nine O’Clock Players Theatre for Children on N. St. Andrews Pl., (constantly in use since it was built in 1938). During the pre-screening reception in the spacious outdoor patio, Diane Hilty was in lively conversation with Julia Banning, a descendant of Assistance League co-founder Anne Banning.
Following the reception, the attendees heard Bonnie Boswell, host of the PBS SoCal program “Bonnie Boswell Reports,” and Erica Olsen, TV host for CBS in Los Angeles, take the theatre stage to welcome everyone and speak about creating the episode of “Visionaries” that stars ALLA and its volunteers.
And then, the lights went down, and the audience got its advance screening. The documentary features a number of League leaders from our local neighborhoods, including Yvonne Cazier, Audrey Fimpler, Flo Fowkes and Barbara Hardesty, to name just a few.
Local public television stations expect first broadcasts of ALLA’s “Visionaries” episode to be in early March.
Category: People
