Shortly after joining Great American Family, Trevor Donovan spoke to the network’s CEO, Bill Abbott, about his decision to follow the executive’s lead and leave Hallmark. “If you’re doing those things in life, those positive things in life that create happiness and productivity in your own heart you end up meeting with like-minded souls,” the “Aloha With Love” actor said in an interview with Abbott on GAF’s YouTube channel in December 2021. During that interview, Donovan discussed what he hoped to accomplish with his Team Upstanders foundation. “The idea behind that is to really encourage kids with a little bit more social influence in school to stand up for kids that maybe can’t stand up for themselves … create a group effort to stop bullying,” Donovan told the CEO.
Not only did Donovan get to work right away on movies for GAF, but he and Abbott wasted little time getting Team Upstanders initiatives off the ground. Speaking to Heavy in December 2021, the “NCIS” actor said he would “be visiting two to three schools” where he would take part in “assemblies, do skits with the kids” to get the anti-bullying message across. In March 2022, Donovan shared an Instagram video of his visit to a middle school where he spent time with students while informing them about Team Upstanders.
That message of positivity was slightly tarnished when GAF was involved in a controversy a year after Donovan joined the network.
