Gloria Ayee
Staff Writer
Fans of The Mickey Mouse Club who have been keeping up with news about all their favorite stars from the show via the Facebook and Twitter pages of “Always in the Club” will already know about Dale Godboldo’s passion for supporting charitable organizations. In an exclusive interview for PopWrapped.com, Godboldo told me more about his recent fundraising efforts, and his passion for non-profit work. I also got the scoop on some exciting entertainment projects that he is currently involved with.
Dale Godboldo is an American television and film actor and producer who began his career on the 1990’s hit show The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, JC Chasez, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. After leaving the series in 1995, Godboldo continued his acting career with guest roles in several television shows including Moesha, ER, Bones, and the UPN series Goode Behavior. He was a series regular on the NBC series Jenny (starring Jenny McCarthy) and Kristin (starring Kristin Chenoweth), and the FOX sitcom Wanda at Large, opposite Wanda Sykes. Godboldo has also appeared in the films Thor, Lakeview Terrace, Fame, The Sum of All Fears, and the Brad Pitt produced Year of the Dog, among others.
Godboldo has recently been involved in fundraising efforts for two non-profit initiatives: “Unite4:Humanity” and “Fame & Philanthropy.” Godboldo was brought in to help with marketing and admissions for both events. For the “Fame & Philanthropy” event, he provided video production, signage, and coordination for the event’s corporate partners through a sponsorship by his companies, Brigade LA and OneOne 77 Creative Studio.
Godboldo spoke about the importance of celebrities being involved in charitable work. He describes himself as an ardent supporter of anyone who is willing to contribute his or her time to charity work. He believes that people in the entertainment industry are in a unique position, and can use their platform and celebrity status to give back to their communities. This, he says, will inspire others to give back as well.
The inaugural “Unite4:Humanity” gala, which was organized by “Unite4:Good,” an organization founded by Anthony Melikhov, was held on February 27, 2014 at the Sony Lot in Los Angeles, California. Godboldo explains that “Unite4:Good” was established as a vehicle for promoting other non-profit organizations. Former president Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker at the black-tie affair, and attendees at the “Unite4:Humanity” gala included Forrest Whitaker, Robert F. Kennedy, Selena Gomez, Eva Longoria, Demi Lovato, Jada Pinkett Smith, William H. Macy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Scorsese, Alicia Keys, Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn, Steve Coogan, Philomena Lee, and President of Clear Channel Entertainment Enterprises, John Sykes.
The event provided an opportunity for some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities to interact with business and political leaders, with the common goal of finding ways to work together on issues such as social inequality, climate change, access to higher education, bullying, alleviating chronic illness, and funding for medical research.
Several charities will benefit from the “Unite4:Humanity” event, including the Clinton Foundation, UNICEF, Eva Longoria Foundation, ASPCA, and Points of Light and Peace Earth Foundation.
The inaugural “Fame & Philanthropy” event, which was executive produced by Ryan Long, was held in Beverly Hills, California on March 2, 2014. Previous Oscar winners Charlize Theron, Sean Penn, and Halle Berry made special appearances, Ne-Yo performed live, and James Cameron gave the keynote address at the event.
“Fame and Philanthropy” was created to provide critical support to charitable organizations such as Theron’s Africa Outreach Project, Ne-Yo’s The Compound Foundation, the Jenesee Foundation, an organization dear to Berry, and Community Inspiring Today’s Youth (CITY), which was founded by Chandra Stovall.
Godboldo will be launching his own non-profit initiatives later this year, which will focus on promoting and supporting youth in arts programs in schools and the community at large. Godboldo is also passionate about mentoring young individuals who are interested in becoming involved in the entertainment industry, or what he refers to as “the business of artistic expression.” Godboldo wants to create an infrastructure that supports the dreams of talented, hard-working youth. He is working with other organizations, schools, and non-profit organizations to create a broad-based initiative to address two main goals: the development and promotion of youth in arts programs in schools and communities, and the development of kids’ self esteem and emotional strength through the arts. Godboldo is passionate about providing mentorship and guidance for youth who wish to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Godboldo has been working hard on a number of very exciting entertainment projects. He is the producer of the upcoming Superstition film franchise (from the creator of Final Destination, which has generated over $650 million worldwide). Godboldo explained that the Superstition franchise is unique because of its dedication to worldwide, multicultural casting and storylines. The core focus of the project is to attract and reach a diverse audience around the globe.
Godboldo is also set to executive produce the film Flyy Girl with Codeblack Films, a division of Lionsgate. Flyy Girl will be based on the award-winning book trilogy from Omar Tyree. Codeblack acquired Tyree’s trilogy from his $30 million catalog, and Godboldo and his business partner hope that the Flyy Girl franchise, which will include fashion merchandise, will redefine what it means to be a “flyy girl” for women of all cultures, races, and ethnicities. Godboldo pointed out that being flyy does not just mean being pretty or well dressed.
He hopes that women will come to understand that “flyy means you are about education, you are independent, you are giving.” “The definition of a flyy girl is Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys doing philanthropic work, Sanaa Lathan because of her commitment to excellence in everything that she does… Eva Longoria is a flyy girl, and so is Gabby Douglas, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato,” Godboldo said.
A portion of the revenue from the Flyy Girl movies will go to non-profit endeavors that promote education and the empowerment of women.
Godboldo is working on producing a feature length film, the Maryanne Godboldo Story, which has a lot of personal significance for him. The film tells the terrifying true story about the actor’s aunt, Maryanne Godboldo, and chronicles her fight with Child Protective Services in Detroit over her refusal to administer state-mandated powerful prescription psychotropic drugs to her young daughter. Godboldo hopes that this film will serve as an instruction manual and source of inspiration to all parents.
For fans who miss seeing Godboldo on screen, the actor is also working on a new project with Travis Romero (co-creator of the USA Network show, White Collar). Godboldo will be executive producing and co-starring in a new television series called My Thai Life, which will be shot on location in Thailand. My Thai Life is expected to air in 2015, and will be broadcast around the globe.
I encourage you to read more about “Fame & Philanthropy” and “Unite4:Humanity!”
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