Ron Patterson, chairman and owner of the John Robert Powers Acting and Modeling School, establishes scholarship for college for Russian orphan.

Los Angeles, CA. October 31, 2007 -- When Ron Patterson, Chairman and President of John Robert Powers acting and modeling school system took the iPOP! Awards Stage last July in Las Vegas the audience of 3,000 talented young aspiring actors, singers, dancers, and models and their parents were expecting Mr. Patterson to announce winners in several iPOP! categories.

The audience was touched to hear Russian adoption story about a young 8 year-old girl and her mother who Mr. Patterson had personally met in Scottsdale, Arizona in March 2007 at an iPOP! acting audition. Apparently, Mr. Patterson learned from the young and talented actress's mother that this Russian orphan was found roaming the streets of Moscow alone at the age of three. She was sent to a Russian orphanage and was eventually adopted by American family and brought to live in Phoenix. While Mr. Patterson was sharing this story a little girl in the iPOP! audience named Yana Smith leaned over to her mother and said, "Hey Mom, I am from Russia too." At that moment Ron Patterson asked Yana and the mother to come up to the stage where he not only presented the gifted child with a special iPOP! acting award but then proceeded to tell Yana and her mother Debbie that he would be establishing a college fund in Yana's name in the amount of $20,000. Needless to say there was not a dry eye in the audience from that moment on.

When Debbie Smith, the adoptive mother was asked about that very special evening in Las Vegas last July, she had this to say, "To be honest with you, Yana and I were shocked Mr. Patterson even remembered meeting us at the iPOP! audition in Scottsdale last March. There must have been at least 300 children that auditioned for him that day. I remember Mr. Patterson telling Yana how interesting he thought she was and then I told him about her story of living in an orphanage in Russia for the first three years of her life and how my husband and I adopted her. That was pretty much it." Debbie recalled. "When Mr. Patterson asked Yana and I to come on stage that night, I thought oh boy, I haven't even showered or put on my make-up. When he announced Yana's scholarship fund I just about passed out!" exclaimed Debbie Smith. "I don't think Mr. Patterson has any idea how his generosity has truly affected my family's life. We are forever grateful."

 In 2003, the adoptive parents, Debbie Smith and her husband, Kevin were living in Phoenix and already had three children Preston (13), Laura (8) and Ryan (6). That summer the Smith family agreed to host two young orphaned boys from Russia named Ethan (14) and Jacob (11) as part of an exchange program. Within two weeks Debbie and Kevin Smith knew they wanted to adopt the boys. After discussing it with their children and the Russian boys everyone agreed it would be "totally awesome" to put it in the words of the all the children.