When the producers of NBC’s Emmy award–winning series ER tappedoriginal cast member Anthony Edwards to reprise the role of Dr. Mark Greene onefinal time for the show’s last season, he agreed, on one condition: His episodesalary -- $125,000, to be exact -- would be donated directly to Shoe4Africa, anonprofit organization that is building a 250-bed children’s hospital inEldoret, Kenya.
The powers that be at ER quickly agreed. Then director StevenSpielberg, whose company is involved in ER’s production, matched the$125,000 donation, and ER executive producer John Wells chipped in anadditional $50,000.
Edwards Supports Shoe4Africa
The new facility will be the cornerstone of Shoe4Africa, which suppliesgently used running shoes to African women and children, creates sportingevents and training programs across the continent, and offers HIV testing andinformation to all who attend races and games in Africa.
Edwards, 46, became involved after he took his family on an around-the-worldvacation in 2007. The trip included a Shoe4Africa event with 2,000 womenrunning together and an HIV-positive woman who stood up and told her story.
“I saw the power of it all,” says Edwards, an avid runner. “Shoes are abasic tool that we think everyone has, but not everyone does.”
Shoes and Hookworm
Shoes can also help protect Africans against hookworm, an infection of thesmall intestine and lungs that is spread by walking barefoot in human sewage.Hookworm infection may increase susceptibility to other infections, includingHIV.
Last summer, Edwards toured the main hospital near the construction site.“We stopped in every room,” he recalls, “and there was singing, and I told themhow I was just asked to go back to ER. … [They said] ‘Fantastic. Dr.Greene has come back to life to build us a hospital.’"