Birthday Fundraising Project 2019

In 2019 the Ken-Friends celebrated Kenneth Branagh's 59th birthday with a donation of $3,700 US, raised to support students from Northern Ireland under The William & Frances Branagh Memorial Award at the Royal Aacademy of Dramatic Art (RADA). The sum collected came from the proceeds of a series of online auctions on the Ken-Friends mailing list offering items related to Kenneth Branagh's artistic production over the many years of his career and from additional donations by Ken-Friends. Here is Kenneth Branagh's thank-you: In a volatile and scary world, one brave constant is the generosity of the Ken Friends. In our work this year, we have managed to proudly employ, half of the leaving graduates in this years RADA acting class of 2019. They bore testament to how much the generosity of these yearly amounts, adds to the life of the academy. Your gift makes a profound difference. If there were never such another collection, you would already have guaranteed your place in the Karmic Hall of Fame, for kindness, foresight and generosity. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Next year I hope to repay a little of your generosity with work that Im proud of and excited by. Artemis Fowl, Tenet, Fireheart, and Death On The Nile - I hope there’ll be something for everyone. More details to follow, but meantime, (to quote Artemis Fowl, and a famous Irish blessing), ‘May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rain fall fast upon your fields, And until we meet again, May a friend be ever near”. With love, and gratitude, from your friend, Ken Back to the Birthday Project page