Help Pres Romanillos

Animation veteran Pres Romanillos (Shan-Yu in Mulan, Little Creek in Spirit, Prince Naveen in Princess and the Frog) is currently awaiting a bone marrow transplant for a relapse of leukemia. Industry friends are organizing both a live art auction in LA and an online auction at Pres-Aid.com. They’ve also started a Facebook page to keep folks posted on the plans.

Our friend, animation journalist and FPS magazine founder Emru Townsend, lost his battle against leukemia a couple years ago and he had a lot of difficulty finding a donor. His website HealEmru.com remains a solid resource for learning how easy it is to become a bone marrow donor.

The animation industry may grow over time, but the community remains smaller than one might think. Case in point: last weekend at MoCCA, I chatted with Pres’s nephew Aleth, who can draw his ass off by the way, and I’d never known they were related until now. Whether you choose to support the auction, become a bone marrow donor, or send well wishes his way, in a tight-knit community like ours, it makes a real difference when we pull together to help each other out. And thankfully, we always do.

UPDATE: Pres Romanillos passed away on July 17, 2010 from leukemia. More information can be found here.