Director explores passionate givers

Billed as a "witty and inspiring" documentary about the profound gesture of giving, writer-director Robin Baker Leacock's "A Passion for Giving" airs at 5 p.m. today on WITV.

Leacock explores her Thanksgiving-themed subject via a series of quotes, art and music, as well as interviews with an array of the famous and not-so-famous.

Among those profiled in the film are Gael Greene, founder of Citymeals on Wheels; Louise Stephaich of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti; Alexandre De Lesseps, founder of BlueOrchid orphanage in Burma; Run DMC's Darryl McDaniels, founder of The Felix Organization; Missy Hargraves of Wildlife Rescue; and representatives from the United Nations Millennium Project and Habitat for Humanity.

Also participating in the documentary are actor Dan Aykroyd and business mogul Richard Branson.

"My hope is that this film will encourage people to think of others first, whether giving time, energy or money in helping people, animals or the environment," says Leacock, whose focus is on how small efforts can make a marked difference. "That is the coolest thing that you can do."

Leacock, who also produced the film, assembled and edited more than 40 hours of footage from her travels, speaking to people passionate about the causes they support.

"A Passion for Giving" was shot by Emmy Award-winner Robert Leacock ("Truth or Dare," "Looking for Richard").

For more information, go online at www.passiongiving.com.

Reach Bill Thompson at bthompson@postandcourier.com or 937-5707.