More than 26 million people have filed for unemployment over the last several weeks and many are still waiting on their benefits to kick in. But one organization, The Actors Fund, is already making a difference for those in the Entertainment Industry, financially supporting everyone from those front and center to the behind the scenes workers.

Craig Zisel is an actor who also owns a small home improvement company. He says if it weren’t for the COVID-19 Actors Fund initiative, he would not be able to put food on the table for his family.

"We were on fumes here in this house financially. The thousand dollars that was sent to our family was like, it was, you know, just a moment of grace really, I felt like,” said Zisel.

Same thing goes for Barbara Ann Davison. Barbara, who retired from an IT company is 84 years old and is a member of the actors union, SAG/AFTRA. She now relies on background gigs as an extra to help pay the rent.  Right now there is no income coming in.

"I've been waiting for four and a half weeks for my unemployment to come through, making phone calls and all that and everything,” said Davison.

To help get her through these trying times, the Actors Fund is providing Davison with financial assistance and even emotional support.

"They reached out to me. That's the great thing about The Actors Fund,” Davison said.

Since the mandatory shut-down went into effect, The Actors Fund lept into action raising almost $20 million to help serve the people who make up the entertainment community across the country.

Literally everyone from ushers to stagehands to actors like Davison and Zisel.

"We’ve provided 6 million dollars in direct financial assistance to people all over the country. That’s about 5,001 people. We still have another 8,000 people in the queue and we're working on their applications to get them money,” said Joe Benincasa who is at the helm of the not for profit.

The organization has been raising funds by asking for support from donors, and also through online entertainment. Rosie O’Donnell, Seth Rudetsky, and even Disney and Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS have all helped raise cash for the not for profit. Joe says that he sees The Fund providing upwards of 27 million dollars to help the community by June.

"The long-term is to make sure that arts workers performing arts, entertainment professionals are accessing all the government programs that are available to them. Number two is helping them keep their mental health together. And number three is helping them develop those careers in the post COVID-19 economy,” Benincasa said.

“When I was making money, I always supported them, but now they're supporting me and the praise that I have for them is,I get tearful, because they're phenomenal,” said Davison.

If you would like to contribute to The Actors Fund, or apply for financial assistance, visit ActorsFund.org.