Striking celebrities raise funds through a fun charity auction

If the “Girls” creator’s art isn’t for you, you might prefer a pottery class with Busy Philipps (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Girls5Eva”), which is now priced at $2,800. Or maybe you’d like Natasha Lyonne (“Orange Is the New Black,” “Russian Doll”) to help you solve Sunday’s New York Times crossword, which will cost you at least $2,807.

Famous writers, actors and directors are offering their time, treasure and lesser-known talents to raise money as part of the United Solidarity Alliance, a charity that financially supports Hollywood crew members – whose jobs have been disrupted by writers and actors for months. Strikes. The group partners with the Motion Picture and Television Fund to accomplish its mission Goal To help cover health care costs for unionized crew members.

Auction offerings range from signed scripts and swag – such as an apron signed by Jeremy Allen White and other members of “The Bear” cast – to creative celebrity experiences. Adam Scott of “Parks and Recreation” will walk the winner’s dog in Los Angeles for up to an hour.

Big-ticket items include a watercolor portrait of the winning model’s dog from Emmy Award-winning actor John Lithgow ($4,050 and counting) and a dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross ($7,100 or more). The price of musician Tom Waits’ Fedora was a relatively modest US$2,600. After dozens of bids – although the auction does not end until September 22.

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Some winners will have to be in New York or Los Angeles to redeem their prizes, but there are a slew of digital get-togethers as well: Both the “New Girl” and “Bones” casts agreed to hangouts over Zoom with the winning presenters, while the actors chose Sarah Silverman. and Maggie Gyllenhaal conduct 20-minute Zoom calls with 20 “Ask Me Anything” questions.

When union writers went on strike in May and their actor counterparts officially joined in July, several groups such as the Community Entertainment Fund began offering financial support to entertainment workers in need. A group of writers, actors, and directors created the Union Solidarity Alliance to specifically support non-striking crew members, some joining picket lines in solidarity, while others’ work and health care coverage were involuntarily affected by the strikes.

“We want to acknowledge that what you are going through now is not easy,” the coalition’s website says. “We know that when you refuse to cross the picket line, you risk being reprimanded, losing a day’s pay (or much more) and having to go home empty-handed.”

In addition to the auction, the charity plans to host fundraising events to meet crew members and hear their concerns about the strike.