John Robert Powers Offers iPOP! Acting Audition Scholarship to Chinese Orphan
Ron Patterson, Chairman and President of the John Robert Powers School Systems sponsors iPOP! participant and establishes college fund for Yiyi McManus.
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 3, 2008 -- www.JohnRobertPowers.net - Chairman and President of John Robert Powers School Systems, Ron Patterson, announced that he will be offering a $20,000 college fund to an acting student, Yiyi McManus, from John Roberts Powers Boston. Mr. Patterson will also be paying for an all expense trip for Yiyi McManus to participate in iPOP! (International Presentation of Performers) this July in Las Vegas.
At iPOP!, over 1,500 children and teens from around the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom will participate in four days of intensive workshops, seminars and most importantly auditions which will be conducted in front of the leading agents, managers and casting directors working in the entertainment industry today. Through the generosity of Ron Patterson and John Robert Powers, Yiyi McManus will have her dream of a lifetime fulfilled by auditioning in front of agents and casting directors for shows including Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Scrubs, Entourage, Hannah Montana and Zoey 101.
Yiyi McManus, a student at John Robert Powers Boston was adopted from China by Lynn, Massachusetts residents Pat and Debbie McManus. As an infant Yiyi was abandoned in Guangzhou, China where she was found in a closet at the Guangzhou hospital with a note saying 'We can't take care of her' and a few Chinese dollars pinned to her blanket.
Yiyi spent the first four years of her life in a welfare institute where to say she was harshly treated would be an understatement. Yiyi endured tremendous hardship including daily beatings, starvation, broken bones, gagging and days where food and water were withheld. Sadly, Yiyi sustained damage to her eardrum and processing center due to blunt trauma in her head and has scars all over her body to this day to remind her of her formative years. Yiyi was saved by an American woman who volunteered in the orphanage and kept her alive for two years by visiting Yiyi. Without such a sponsor, Yiyi would certainly have perished from lack of care, food and water. Pat and Debbie McManus adopted Yiyi and raised her in Massachusetts with three other Asian sisters and a brother.
Yiyi started attending John Robert Powers acting and modeling classes in Boston when she was quite young. She has been under the tutelage of John Robert Powers school owners, Arelen Pedjoe and Barbara Tyler who have personally watched Yiyi develop and put distance between herself and her troubled beginnings.
When Ron Patterson recently visited the John Robert Powers School in Boston and had the opportunity to meet Yiyi McManus, he immediately knew that she was indeed special and should attend the next iPOP!.
"John Robert Powers is fundamentally dedicated to developing young people's dreams and hopes," said Ron Patterson. "I enjoy nothing more than helping young children and teenagers discover who they are and what potential they are inherently given. I am thrilled that John Robert Powers is in a position today to sponsor such beautiful children as Yiyi McManus. I'm so glad John Robert Powers has an opportunity to send Yiyi to iPOP! Las Vegas and to establishing a college scholarship in Yiyi's name in the amount of $10,000."
International Presentation of Performers, iPOP! is the successful merger of fashion and modeling with the music and entertainment industry, creating one of the largest and most well respected showcases for aspiring, actors, singers, models and dancers. iPOP! introduces new talent to perspective agents, managers and talent scouts while also providing a unique and intense workshop environment for young talent to learn their trade from top professionals in their fields.
About John Robert Powers:
John Robert Powers is an internationally recognized school system with locations throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. For over eighty years, John Robert Powers has been training students in acting, singing, dancing, modeling and etiquette. Emphasizing personality development, John Robert Powers provides every student with the schooling, guidance, and confidence to further their individual potential and reach their highest career goals. Famous alumni thru either the school or the John Robert Powers agencies include First Ladies, Jackie Kennedy and Betty Ford, Princess Grace of Monaco, Raquel Welch, Lucille Ball, Ann Margaret, Diana Ross, Faith Ford, Josh Duhamel, Janice Dickinson, Ryan Locke and Nikki Taylor. Online at www.JohnRobertPowers.net.
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See the original story at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/07/prweb1069614.htm
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