Kensington Tallman, voice actress of Riley in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2, visited the 5th grade girls of Walt Disney Elementary school for a Q&A on behalf of the Saving Our Daughters organization on October 10th.
Saving Our Daughters (SOD) is a non-profit organization that works to eliminate social barriers by utilizing “Celebrity Godparents” that educate multicultural girls beyond the classroom setting and breaking down social constructs around bullying, mental health, and low self-esteem. Tallman is the third “Celebrity Godparent” from the organization to visit Disney Elementary School. During the 2023-2024 school year, “Wonka” actress Calah Lane, and “Raven’s Home” actress Mykal-Michelle Harris, also made appearances for the then 4th grade girl students.
SOD is founded by Debbie and Curtis Benjamin who lost their youngest daughter to a cancerous brain tumor when she was just 12 years old. The couple started the organization to inspire young girls of color in the performing arts, a subject that was near and dear to their daughter. Actress Keke Palmer joined SOD in 2014 and co-founded a programming branch called “Saving Our Cinderellas,” named after her role as the first African American actress to play Cinderella on Broadway.
“My wife and I knew the organization can really help so many young girls from multicultural backgrounds that may be battling low self-esteem but still loved the arts though music, acting and writing,” said Curtis Benjamin. “Her memory will live on through the programming work of Saving Our Daughters.”
The “Little Cinderella Reporters Initiative” is in partnership with WABC-TV community partners in New York (a Disney Company), and collaborated with students ranging from 3rd to 5th grade. Girls with a diverse background participate in the initiative, asking interview questions to their assigned godparent which boosts confidence, and allows them to explore and learn journalism skills.
16-year-old Tallman, who is known for her role as Lucy in “Home Sweet Rome” and as the voice of Riley in “Inside Out 2,” visited the 5th grade girls in the STEAM room of Disney Elementary. The students took turns using pretend microphones and practicing their interview skills by asking Tallman questions about her life, career, and experiences working on “Inside Out 2.”
“I was going through my own struggles with mental health and anxiety, and working on this film really gave me the courage to talk about it, and really empowered me to just encourage other people and let them know it’s okay to not always be okay sometimes,” Tallman shared with the students.
Each girl had an affirmation card with sayings like “I do not worry about what is out of my control,” “Don’t give up,” “Every new day is a second chance,” and more. After the Q&A, Tallman took time to individually meet with each girl, chat with them and personally autograph their affirmation cards for them.
Disney Elementary is excited to continue to grow this program with the the new 4th grade girls and bring more “Celebrity Godparents” to meet the students. To learn more about the Saving Our Daughters organization and all of their other programs, visit www.savingourdaughters.org.
