Aid recipient: Mitch Jervis is a longtime guitarist in the Colorado theatre community who recently played in the band for the Denver Center’s “First Date” at the Garner Galleria Theatre. Mitch has too many theatrical credits to count, but here are a random few: “Pump Boys and Dinettes” with late local actor Daniel Langhoff at the Miners Alley Playhouse; and 
“Spring Awakening,” “Hair” and “The Robber Bridegroom” at the Town Hall Arts Center. In 2016, Mitch volunteered to play in a memorial concert at the Hard Rock Cafe that honored Brenda Billings and benefited the Denver Actors Fund. Previously, he was in the band that presented The Who’s Tommy as a benefit concert for Phamaly Theatre Company, which exists to create performance opportunities for actors with disabilities. Mitch, who is from Marshalltown, Iowa, and now lives in Black Hawk, also played with Langhoff in a rock band called Captain Quirk. And he has a jazz-and-swing combo called Standard Deviations.
His medical story: In Mitch’s own words: “It was bad enough that I was out-of-state attending my dad’s funeral; it was even worse when I sliced my hand open while moving my mom into a new care facility. As I tried not to bleed all over my car, I headed off to the local hospital to get what turned out to be six stitches.” The total bill for Mitch’s medical services was $755.44. Mitch has health insurance, but he speaks for many when he says, “It’s frustrating that I can’t afford to pay this health-care bill because I have to pay more than $6,000 a year in health-insurance premiums. That is a screwed-up system.”
How we have helped: We have covered Mitch’s bill of $755.44.
A message from Mitch: “I had no idea what a visit to an out-of-state, out-of-network emergency room would cost, since my thousands of dollars in health-insurance premiums were not going to cover a penny of it. Fortunately, once I got the bill, the Denver Actors Fund came through with the funds remarkably quickly. It’s sad that the U.S. health care system is so broken that we need a resource like the Denver Actors Fund, but it’s wonderful for all of us in the Colorado theater community that it’s available and very easy to work with.”
How you can help The Denver Actors Fund help more Colorado artists in need: To date, The Denver Actors Fund has made more than $225,000 available to Colorado artists in medical need. If you would to help us replenish, simply mail checks made out to The Denver Actors Fund to P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO, 80212. Or use this donation link.
Read testimonials from other Denver Actors Fund beneficiaries here
Note: At the Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have his or her story told.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US REPLENISH:
To DONATE the Denver Actors Fund, please CLICK HERE (with our humble thanks)
ABOUT THE DENVER ACTORS FUND:
Video above: The Denver Actors Fund receives the Colorado Theatre Guild’s 2016 Community Impact Award.
The Denver Actors Fund is a modest source of immediate, situational relief when members of the local theater community find themselves in medical need. In addition to $225,000 in financial relief, a team of more than 60 Denver Actors Fund volunteers has offered good neighborly assistance to more than 100 beneficiaries including meal prep and delivery, child care, transportation, errands, construction, pet-sitting and more. For more information, visit our web site at DenverActorsFund.Org.
HOW TO APPLY FOR AID:
To apply for Denver Actors Fund aid: Fill out this brief online form here
MORE WAYS TO HELP:
DONATE BY MAIL:
Send checks made out to the Denver Actors Fund to:
P.O. Box 11182
Denver, CO 80212
VISIT OUR ONLINE MERCH STORE:
Click here to see how you can buy DAF products such as T-shirts, key chains, puzzles and much more
