Southington Family Recreating Movies To Help Feeding America

SOUTHINGTON, CT — What began as a creative way for a Southington family to keep busy during the coronavirus pandemic has translated into more than $20,000 in pledges for Feeding America after a big celebrity donation this week.

Make that $26,250.26 to be exact.

Back in April, during what Southington resident Dan Presser called "the height of the pandemic," in Connecticut, he and his now-4-year-old daughter, Maddie, were finding themselves bouncing off the walls. Maddie was home from preschool and, with college sports on hold last spring, Presser was on the sidelines from his job as producer of ESPN's ACC Network.

So with just a bit of video experience, Presser teamed up with Maddie to recreate a scene from the Movie "The Lion King." Presser and his wife, Beth, shared it with with a few friends and relatives and the popularity began mounting.

"If was a fun way to teach kids and pass the time," Presser said. "Then, we started getting all these views."

"Hmm ...," he said.

Soon Quarantine 2020 Productions became a YouTube channel with scenes recreated from movies like Pretty Woman, Forest Gump, Field of Dreams, Braveheart and The Shining and shows like the 2020 Emmy Awards.

Presser said he then figured why not try to raise some money for a charity with all those views. He chose Feeding America. Presser then created a donation page for Feeding America, which he has attached to the videos.

Donation pledges came pouring in, and Presser said some of the amounts were quite creative. For example, when the ESPN Films series The Last Dance, was airing, a lot of donations with a "23" reference were coming in to honor Michael's Jordan's uniform number with the Chicago Bulls.

"One example was $50.23," presser said. "We didn't even do The Last Dance. It shows you how generous people have been."

To begin the week, the donations totaled about $13,000. Then, a matching donation came in from celebrity motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

"I don't know how he found out about the videos, but the donation was very generous," Presser said. "We're very appreciative."

Robbins Tweeted he was touched:

There seems to be a worldwide audience on YouTube.

"We've heard from China, Poland, Australia, Japan and Brazil," Presser said. "We're waiting on Africa to complete a sweep of the continents, not counting Antarctica."

When asked if a video about the Madagascar penguins on the boat would cover Antarctica, Presser said he'd consider it.

The Pressers have shot a scene from The Goonies, which should be released soon. Presser said he's been waiting for a rainy day to finish The Shawshank Redemption.

"We'll keep it going," he said. "It's been a lot of fun and we're generating a lot of donations to a good cause."

____

This story is part of Patch's new partnership with Feeding America. Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

(Patch Media Partner/Shutterstock)