Meet Scotty.

Meet my oldest nephew Scotty. He’s pretty awesome. And this week we’re going to take some time to get to know him better.

Now I love all my nieces and nephews with the equal fervor of an angry momma bear. But none of them can quite match Scotty’s prowess on the dance floor or passion for very loud iPod sing-alongs.

Every time I see him we have to do our special high-five hand shake (he likes to blow it up at the end). We took surfing lessons in Nantucket together. He listens when I ask him to do things. Usually.

But his awesomity recently reached new levels when he started taking acting classes at the Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD. To put it mildly, he rocks it on stage. I mean, I know I’m biased because he’s my flesh and blood and all, but Al Pacino ain’t got nothin on this scenery chewing performance:

It might be the hormones, but watching that clip makes me swell up with pride and get all weepy and say embarrassing things out loud like “Oh my god I used to change his diapers! And look at him now!”

Imagination Stage has truly been such an amazing place for Scotty and kids just like him to learn and grow. Their doors are open to anyone who wants to perform. Which means even if you have Down Syndrome or hearing aids or ADD or no money to pay for classes or just a plain old streak of nerdiness, the minute you step on stage there you become simply an Actor. And that, my friends, is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

That’s why I’m asking for your help this week. Imagination Stage serves up the magic of theater to more than 100,000 children and families ever year, and they rely on donations to keep all the amazing programming, classes and summer camps available to as many kids as possible.

So see that little yellow donate button below?

Click it to help me reach my $3000 fundraising goal!

It’s all safe and secure through PayPal. Even the tiniest donation will assure you a life showered with good karma and golden pain au raisins. And buckets and buckets of champagne. I swear. How else do you think I ended up in Paris?