Source: Post and Courier
Article By: Bill Thompson
Date: April 11, 2010

The S.C. Film Commission, not to mention a bevy of local businesses, exult in the economic impact that the “Army Wives” production continues to have on the state.

With its fourth season on the Lifetime network debuting tonight, the program’s fiscal reach will not subside anytime soon.

But ask the young patients at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital, or any of the numerous recipients of volunteer efforts by the series’ cast, and you hear a narrative of a different kind: lives made brighter by the willingness of “Army Wives” to be involved.

“Army Wives” and Lifetime cast a wide net in their various charitable efforts. In Greater Charleston alone, those associated with “AW” have contributed to the success of events sponsored by or benefitting Children’s Hospital and the MUSC Boot Camp and Reindeer Run, Special Olympics, SOLD, Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, Junior League, Camp Happy Days, Lowcountry Food Bank, Leukemia Fund and Trident Technical College, all while sustaining their work with charities in Los Angeles and other parts of the country.

Most recently, cast members Drew Fuller, Sally Pressman, Jeremy Davidson and Terry Serpico helped raise more than $250,000 for the pediatric oncology department at MUSC during a fashion week event at the Atrium, a play space within Children’s Hospital. The event was sponsored by designer Mary Norton of Charleston’s Moo Roo Handbag Co., and one of the bags created by Pressman and Davidson fetched $7,000.

“All of our charity ventures definitely stem from us as individuals, evidenced by the different charities we’re all involved in,” says Pressman, who plays the character of Roxy LeBlanc. “For me, most of my involvements come from people in the organizations asking me to participate and, depending on my connection to the cause and my availability, I will jump on board.”

This past week, Pressman ventured to Wilmington, N.C., to volunteer with Carolina Canines, a company providing service dogs to wounded soldiers.

“I love working in all the communities because it gives me a greater connection to a place and the people in it. Especially in Charleston. Everyone here is so kind, supportive and accommodating. It’s nice to make contact with them and find some way to say thank you.”

Fellow stars Kim Delaney, Wendy Davis, Catherine Bell, Brian McNamara, Sterling K. Brown and others are no less engaged. For example, Delaney, whose principal focus as a volunteer is on military personnel, participated in the local charity event “The Look for Success,” involving makeovers for real-life Army wives. For the most part, the impetus comes from within.

Executive producers Harry Bring and Marshall Persinger have been with the series from Day One, conducting the original location scouting that brought the series to the area and shepherding the production ever since.

They say that while the network and studio certainly have encouraged participation, and that some initial efforts derived from being approached, cast and crew have gone the extra mile and then some.

“It’s just them wanting to give back,” says Bring. “Kim, for one, always wanted to give back to the people we portray in the show. Personally, I’ve had lot of interaction with North Charleston Mayor (Keith) Summey, who has been a big advocate of the program. I went to all the cast early on, and without a bit of hesitation, all volunteered for an evening with SOLD (Sustainable Opportunities for Life and Dreams), the city of North Charleston’s women and children’s shelter.”

Some of these endeavors, such as “Lifetime Gives Back,” emphasize support for military families and are done under the aegis of the Lifetime network. Most are undertaken independently, and each has its own reward.

“Helping military families was something I was involved in well before ‘Army Wives,’ ” says Delaney, one of several “AW” cast and crew members to buy homes in the area. “And I’ve grown in my admiration for what they do. My father is a veteran of the Korean War, and he’s always been very involved, so it comes from my family.

“I really don’t talk about this sort of thing very much. I do many more things privately. But because we’re in the public eye, we reach more people. Seeing a familiar face talk about (an issue) can make a difference. You can’t imagine who you will meet and who you can get to when you start getting involved.”

Individual members of the cast are involved in various charities of their own in Los Angeles, says Fuller (who stars as Trevor LeBlanc), suggesting the same motivation carries over to the local community.

“For me it’s the Big Brother program and going into various children’s hospitals in L.A. Kim works with inner-city women, and so on. Being involved at the MUSC Children’s Hospital — and (castmate) Brian McNamara is there often, just to hold ‘preemies’ — is a matter of helping other people the way people have helped me.

“Anytime you can go to the Atrium at MUSC and see the joy that crosses a child’s face … it’s a privilege. For the moment, they forget that they are patients, they forget about the medications. The most important thing is that kids can be kids. When (illness) robs children of their innocence, there’s nothing worse. Being able to have this opportunity means a great deal because you can never do too much when it comes to helping a child.”

One of the advantages of having a large ensemble cast working in a city of moderate size is that not every actor works every day, and thus many have more time to volunteer, notwithstanding family responsibilities and other obligations, says Persinger.

“Every time anything comes in, we will send an e-mail to the cast as a whole and see if anyone wants to participate. Generally they do. Actors decide on their own what they do and don’t want to do,” Persinger adds. “And there probably is more time to do it here. Charleston feels like a second home to us now, and it is important to all of us that we are able to contribute. This whole life we live in this business is so transient you have to make the most of it.”

There has been some concern on the part of the production company that too much media exposure of its charitable involvements might lead to being inundated by requests from the community, requests they might not be able to fulfill. But the show’s producers and its stars appear ready to take that risk.

“A lot of the cast is from L.A., but they have made this their second home,” says Bring. “They have come to embrace the community and made it theirs. They are giving their time whenever they can.”