Emily’s Gift
Written by OMTimes Radio on August 25, 2016
Emily’s Gift
Aired Thursday, 1 September 2016, 7:00 PM ET
On April 3 2010, Emily Rose Shane was killed by a suicidal driver on California’s Pacific Coast Highway. She was just thirteen years old.
Out of the devastation, grief, and horror at the senselessness of Emily’s death, her parents, Hollywood producer Michel Shane and his wife Ellen were inspired a beautiful tribute to their youngest child.
Emily had been diagnosed with learning and processing issues and was lucky to have the outside help needed to help her reach her best academic potential. In honor of her memory, Ellen and Michel founded a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity, the SEA (Successful Educational Achievement) Program, which provides one on one mentoring/tutoring to struggling middle school students like Emily, who could not otherwise afford this type of support. The only “fee” to SEA program participants is to perform an act of kindness for every mentoring session.
In this episode, Michel and Ellen will discuss:
* How one copes with the devastating challenge of losing a child
* The miracles that occurred after Emily’s death
* How the SEA Program is transforming the lives of both students and mentors
* The Pass it Forward campaign
* Why the SEA Program addresses a significant need in our educational system
Ellen Shane graduated from McGill University with a B.Comm in Management with a specialization in Marketing and Organizational Behavior. The Executive Director of the Emily Shane Foundation, Ellen now offers grief support to anyone suffering from loss, and especially the loss of a child.
Michel Shane is one of the motion picture industry’s premier independent producers. He is managing partner of The Handpicked Company based out of Los Angeles & Montreal and has produced films in Canada, USA, India, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, and South America. He has worked with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Leonardo Di Caprio, Tom Hanks,and Will Smith and continues to work with world-class talent on his projects at various stages of development and production.
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