Brendan Penny is part of the Hallmark movie tied to two walk-on roles auctioned for Bears Care, and the winners got their day on set at Halas Hall on July 17. Carrie May-Borich and Phillip Salamone won the special featured spots over the summer, then stepped into a gala scene built to mirror the Bears Care Gala.
The auction fed directly into the film’s charity push, with proceeds going to Bears Care. Marge Hamm said, “The opportunities they provided that gave Bears Care the chance to auction behind-the-scenes, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to our fans raised significant dollars for the charity, which will make a huge impact serving our community this holiday season.”
July 17 at Halas Hall
May-Borich said the on-set visit caught her off guard. “I had no idea what to expect,” she said. “It was a surprise. And it was a really good surprise.” She brought her best friend, Sheri Pickens, as her plus-one, while Salamone brought his father, Phil.
The pair started the day at Halas Hall around noon, went to trailers for hair and makeup, and then filmed the opening stretch of the gala sequence, where attendees file in, interact with Staley Da Bear and mingle. Their scene placed the charity message inside the movie rather than leaving it outside as a marketing add-on.
Samantha DiPippo on the story
Samantha DiPippo said, “It was important to us to find a way to showcase in the film the incredible impact that Bears Care has made all over Chicagoland,” and added, “The end result is woven throughout the story, including a scene at the Bears Care Gala, where we were thrilled to be able to feature walk-on roles for the Bears Care auction winners.”
She also said, “Creating community engagement combined with our iconic holiday magic is the perfect script for how Hallmark and the Bears are true partners.” That pairing gave the film a local charity tie-in with a real on-set experience for the winners, but the source does not say how much money the auction actually brought in. The movie’s community message is clear; the dollar total is not.
Phillip Salamone on set
Salamone said, “Spending the day with my dad at Halas Hall filming the Hallmark movie was truly a blessing,” and, “Having the opportunity to be part of the movie, experience everything firsthand and meet Coach Johnson was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget.” For the audience, the practical takeaway is simple: the charity element is already built into the film’s production story, and the two walk-on roles were real, paid-for access points into that production.
What remains hanging over the story is the scale. Bears Care and Hallmark created the experience, the winners showed up, and the scene was shot, but the auction’s financial impact is still untallied in the information released so far.
