Our story

Acting Out for Good began its existence as Acting Out for ALS in August 2013, in memory of Sharon Ashby, who passed away at age 67 from Lou Gehrig's Disease.  Sharon was a dedicated elementary school teacher and always supported worthy causes, especially if youths were involved.  Over the course of 11 musical productions and various other fundraisers like Ice Bucket Challenges, the group raised over $56,000 for ALS warriors in the western Maryland area and for regional ALS organizations.

Following the 2020 shutdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting Out was forced to rethink their approach and mission.  After two film projects and an album of holiday music, the founders (Sharon's son Mark and daughter-in-law Jennifer) decided the time had come to expand the charity's scope to include supporting individuals and causes in other areas of need with the proceeds from their future productions.

While the original Acting Out for ALS name may still be used in the future and remains the non-profit's legal name, we will also operate under the trade name Acting Out for Good, and our former yellow-flower logo now contains many more colors, all to reflect this new, wider focus.  We know Sharon would approve.