Roswell, New Mexico Fundraiser Raises Thousands For Crew And Charity

When COVID started shutting down TV and film productions, it was easy to think first of the actors. They are the most visible part of any production, after all. But those shutdowns don’t just affect celebrities; they also put many crew members out of work. Normally, during a hiatus, crew members, like actors, would take work on other productions. However, that obviously wasn’t possible this year. So in order to pick up the slack, former Roswell, New Mexico showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie went to work (she was responding to the huge list of CW renewals). With help from illustrator Alex Sauter and fashionista Jesa Joy, the trio created fan merch, which they sold earlier this year. Well, the results are in. MacKenzie revealed on her Twitter account this week that the Roswell, New Mexico fundraiser  accomplished its job and so much more.

What The Roswell, New Mexico Fundraiser Accomplished

Selling shirts and totes that drew inspiration from “the show’s message,” as MacKenzie put it, paid off. The fundraiser took in almost $100,000. With that money, MacKenzie says, they “…were able to help people with rent, medical bills, materials/tech needed for home schooling and distance learning, groceries, costs of quarantining from family. EVERYONE who applied for help got it. The crew is now back to work full time, and we still had money left over.”

That’s wonderful, of course, and was probably an incredible relief for the crew members who depend on regular pay. However, there was still the matter of that leftover money. MacKenzie explained that she didn’t want it to “sit in an account.” After all, while the crew members are working again, that money could be doing good for others. So that’s what it’s doing.

In line with the show’s message, MacKenzie decided to donate the rest of the money to charities that aligned with the actors and their characters’ ideals. In a tweet, she shared an email she sent to the cast.

So I’d like to share with you a portion of of my most recent email to the cast (I email a lot 😂😂) which reveals what I decided to do in honor of the aliens – real and fictional – I love so much. THANK YOU FANS, for buying t-shirts and totes and donating. We love you. ❤️👽❤️ pic.twitter.com/ECYcnPzX5x

— carina adly mackenzie (@cadlymack) October 28, 2020

Inspired by Michael Vlamis’s former foster kid character, Michael, for instance, a donation went to New Mexico Friends of Foster Children. Another donation went to Schools on Wheels, which provides academic support for children experiencing housing insecurity. Still other donations benefitted organizations like Roswell Refuge, She Se Puede, and The Trevor Project. You can see the full list in the tweet. This, of course, was on top of donations MacKenzie previously made to the Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief Fund. A lot of good will be done for a lot of people.

And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you’d like to promote a charity you support. Tell us on social media or in the comments.

featured image via The CW

Salomé Gonstad is a freelance writer who grew up in the swampy wilds of south Alabama. When she's not yelling about pop culture on the internet, she's working on a supernatural thriller about her hometown. Also, we're pretty sure she's a werewolf. Email her at salome@comicyears.com.