Sheen (who was born Ramon Estevez in Dayton) and actress Samantha Langevin established the Augsburger/Estevez Scholarship in 1997 in memory of their fathers, who were both lifelong employees of NCR Corp. in Dayton.
“The fund has in no way been affected by Charlie Sheen’s situation,” said W. Stuart McDowell, chair of Wright State’s Department of Motion Pictures, Theatre and Dance.
“In fact, the fund enables young performers to get four years of training during a period when they are all growing up to become better citizens, as well as honing their craft as actors, dancers, professionals in design, tech and motion pictures,” McDowell said.
More than 30 students have received scholarships from the fund. Contributions are open to the public.
“Every year, Martin Sheen has written personal notes to each of these scholarship students. Because Martin did not attend college, but went straight to New York from Chaminade High School, this kind of support is very important to him,” McDowell said.
Christine Dull, co-founder of the Dayton International Peace Museum, said Martin Sheen “stands on his own merit. We respect and admire him for his courageous work for peace and justice, his spiritual devotion and the fact that he cares deeply for the museum. As for Charlie, he has our sympathy and prayers for his rehabilitation.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or tmorris@Dayton DailyNews.com.
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