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Movie exec shares bounty with those back home
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Tiki Davis. a recipient of a holiday gift card from a Hollywood producer, with her children in their Northside Youngstown home. Kids from left are: Laekwon Brown, 11, Louis Brown, 7, Aaliyah Brown. 13 and Catera Brown, 10.
Youngstown native Paula Kauffman Wagner, a film producer, donated gift cards to Beatitude House.
YOUNGSTOWN — A phone call from California made a difference this Thanksgiving for 50 disadvantaged families.
The assistant to Paula Kauffman Wagner, a Hollywood producer and Youngstown native, called Teresa Boyce, development director at Beatitude House, and told her someone “wanted to do something nice” for Beatitude House.
A specific need for Thanksgiving was relayed.
“For some, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t exist without some help,” said Michelle Rockwood, Beatitude development associate.
Arrangements were made, and each family received a $25 gift card at Sparkle Market.
Beatitude House families are disadvantaged women and their children; the women are in educational programs or are working. Gift cards also went to Neighborhood Outreach families.
Wagner said that after doing research to determine where she wanted to donate, Beatitude House’s reputation and high success rate won her over.
“It seemed to be a very worthy organization and one that had the highest rate of helping people get back on their feet,” she said. “I’m really helping people help themselves, and I like that a lot.”
Wagner said she also chose the organization because she views it as a way for women to take charge of their lives.
“It’s important to help women who are disadvantaged because I feel a responsibility to give back,” she said. “It’s important to me to help support people who are out working to help support themselves.”
Information from Beatitude House noted that Wagner is married to actor Tom Cruise’s agent, Rick Nicita, co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency. Wagner and Cruise teamed up for Cruise/Wagner Productions in 1993. Their films include the “Mission: Impossible” series, “Vanilla Sky,” “The Last Samuri” and the “War of the Worlds.”
Wagner, a daughter of Edmund Jamison Kauffman and Sue Kauffman, began her career at the Youngstown Playhouse. She attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and then moved to Los Angeles.
She told Beatitude House, “I grew up in Youngstown. My family, the Kauffmans, lived here for many years. It means so much to me to be able to help support this fine community and an organization like Beatitude House.”
One recipient of the gift through the Neighborhood Outreach is Tiki Davis and her family of four children. For nine years, she has lived next door to Beatitude House on Lora Avenue.
“I got involved with Beatitude House when Sister Betty saw my kids outside playing,” Davis said. “We became acquainted.”
Sister Betty is Sister Elizabeth Schuster, assistant executive director of Beatitude House.
Davis holds down two jobs — working at University Red and White, a corner store, and as a home health aide with Comfort Keepers. In a few weeks, she is starting a new job at St. Elizabeth Health Center Boardman Campus. “I completed a six-week nursing assistant program through the Red Cross of Greater Cleveland,” she said.
Davis said once she has time under her belt in her new job, she will decide whether to study to be a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse.
What drew her to this field?
“I’ve always had heart for caring for people,” she said. She said she was always interested in the medical field.
“I wanted to be a pediatrician,” she said. “I’m starting later in life ... who knows?” the 32-year-old said.
Davis said food baskets, school clothing and Christmas gifts from Beatitude House have “made a difference for me.” Her children are Aaliyah Brown, 13; Laekwon Brown, 11; Catera Brown, 10; and Louis Brown, 7.
In a difficult economy that has put even more pressure on the vulnerable, she said, “I know my boundaries. I have a set limit on everything.”
She said that the help she gets from Beatitude House helps her provide what her family needs.
For Thanksgiving, it would have been a “tight squeeze” without the help from the gift card. “Every bit helps,” she said.
Davis said her family’s Thanksgiving dinner will include turkey and ham along with side dishes. “I usually like to try something different ... a new side dish or dessert,” she said.
“I’m a cookie and cake person,” she said, noting that making pies isn’t her strong suit. “I let the kids pick and I’m the tiebreaker.”
To her benefactor, Davis said she wanted to relay her thanks for helping make the holiday easier and wished Wagner a “lovely holiday.”
The Beatitude House donor made it possible for many families to enjoy the bounty of Thanksgiving.