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HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Hundreds of inner-city children, and those with special needs, were joined by their families for an opportunity to taste the glamour of Hollywood Sept. 25. They walked the red carpet to the Los Angeles premiere of the romantic comedy "Meet Me in Miami."
In the days prior to the event, 300 children, chosen by local agencies, were fitted with hearing aids and more than 1,000 were given prescription glasses, courtesy of Starkey Hearing Foundation, Give the Gift of Sight and LensCrafters.
“Some of them will be hearing and seeing clearly for the very first time,” said Eric Hannah, co-founder of Servant Entertainment, which helps to sponsor the Giving Hope Tour with Lift Up America.
Officials planned to close down all westbound lanes of Hollywood Boulevard where dozens of limos waited. Each child and their parents were given a short, private ride to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which hosted the free event.
A variety of celebrities, including actors from such NBC shows as “The Office” and “Heroes,” and Lou Ferrigno of “The Incredible Hulk,” were to line the red carpet as fans, asking the young children for their autographs.
“It’s turning upside down the traditional red carpet,” said Hannah, who directed the family film.
“It’s an evening for the children and parents, and the stars are the fans. It’s agape love. It gives and asks for nothing in return. When you do something like this, God shows up. There is no hook.”
At the theater the children were to be given popcorn and sodas. Afterward, they were treated to VIP packages just like those given to celebrities on the big award show nights.
Their packages include food from Tyson Foods and gifts from such donors as Beanie Babies, Ty Inc., Interstate Batteries, Disney, Cookie Lee Jewelry, Chipotle and Hollywood & Highland Center. Corporations have also teamed up to raise $5,000 in college scholarships for each of the children, totaling $6 million.
“Suddenly it’s like ‘Somebody cares for me. I’m going to college,’” said David Hannah, Eric’s father, and founder of Lift Up America.
Agape in motion
The elder Hannah formed Lift Up America in 2004 after sensing a burden for America’s at-risk population.
“As I started spending time with the people, I realized they were just like my kids, but with fewer opportunities,” David Hannah said. “They just started at a terrible disadvantage.”
Using contacts developed over the 22 years he founded and led Athletes in Action, Hannah approached several major corporations and professional sports owners.
“We wanted to see what we could do to have an impact, a real impact, on the lives of these people,” the elder Hannah said. “Most of my life’s work with business leaders, college and pro athletes, has led to this.”
He found a receptive crew among his contacts and their inaugural event was launched Dec. 28, 2004, when 35 agencies combined to distribute food at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. A year later 27 professional and college teams hosted food distribution events, including the San Diego Chargers.
“We view the agencies as the heroes. They are working with these kids day in and day out,” David Hannah said.
Their job was not to duplicate existing community services, but to pull those resources together with corporate sponsors. But after serving a Thanksgiving dinner in Washington, D.C., Hannah said he had a sudden revelation when he realized people were standing up to five hours in bitterly cold temperatures just to get a meal.
“Then it occurred to me: This is the way the poor are treated in our country,” he said. “They stand in lines to just get the basics.”
His concerns seemed to mesh with his son, who was looking for a way to benefit some of these poverty sufferers through an evening of fun"?
“God was putting it on our hearts,” Eric Hannah said of the employees at his four-year-old entertainment company, which was originally launched as Servant Productions. “We felt God wanted us to somehow use the film to give back, to take the most underprivileged, special-needs children to one of the highest places of honor, the red carpet. It’s been an incredible project.”
Using resources that his father already developed though his Lift Up America nonprofit, including assistance from Cinemark Theatres the duo was able to expand the scope of the elder Hannah’s giving project.
“When you drop a seed of love—a lot of these people have never been loved like that before—then we give them encouragement,” Eric said.
Scoring with kids
In addition to the movie nights, the tour project also hosts events at sporting events, including National Football League games in Dallas, Miami, Kansas City and Washington, D.C.
In a Dallas event, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was down on one knee asking the young children for their autographs, the Hannahs said.
For the recipients, it’s often a life-changing experience. In Houston, a June movie premiere prompted such comments as “Heaven must be like this” and, as one child said, “Just for tonight I forgot being homeless.”
“A lot of these families don’t dream. They may daydream, but they don’t dream anymore because they don’t think anything will change,” Eric Hannah said.
One of those receiving assistance in Houston was a Katrina transplant, who settled into her new hometown in the Texas coastal community after the hurricane sucked up everything she had.
Then came another setback, an inferno that destroyed her new house—and her hope.
“There is so much more to this (tour),” the younger Hannah said. “For so many of these families, hope has been defeated over and over and over again.”
Lasting efforts
The events have also touched volunteers. A Mexico City event in February featured the First Lady of Mexico, who was scheduled to make a 10-minute appearance. She ended up staying long enough to kiss every child, Eric Hannah said.
While the special events are the face of the organization, Lift Up America is also working behind the scenes trying to secure mentors to help guide inner-city children and youth. Programs are also in place to help develop job skills and encourage healthy lifestyles — all in an effort to break the cycle of poverty.
“They don’t believe the American dream is for them,” David Hannah said. “They have parents who have said, ‘We failed, there is no hope for you.’ ”
Although both Eric and his father are evangelical Christians, Lift Up America is a secular, humanitarian nonprofit. As such, there is no proselytizing. Their faith is displayed solely through their hands.
“God’s just asking us to love on these kids and on the families,” Eric Hannah said. “Through that, they can see God.”
For more information, visit www.liftupamerica.org.
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