FOSTER CHILD SYMPOSIUM SET FOR TODAY SHOWBIZ, CHARITY LEADERS MEETING TO DISCUSS CRISIS.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Representatives of the entertainment industry, along with government and philanthropic community leaders, will hold a symposium from 7 to 9 p.m. today in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. to address the foster-care crisis in California. The goals of the symposium, sponsored by the Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is a talent and literary agency which represents a vast array of actors, musicians, writers, directors, and athletes, as well as a variety of companies and their products. Foundation, The California Endowment, the Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. He came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. Foundation and the Celebrity Philanthropy philanthropy, the spirit of active goodwill toward others as demonstrated in efforts to promote their welfare. The term is often used interchangeably with charity. Initiative, are to generate strategies to improve foster care in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and to educate the broader community about foster-care reform and opportunities to adopt foster children. ``The failing foster-care system is a crisis impacting the lives and dreams of our children, specifically children of color not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. See also: Color who are disproportionately represented in the foster-care system,'' said Dr. Robert K. Ross, president and chief executive officer of The California Endowment. ``The numbers are staggering. Since the late 1980s, the number of children in foster care in this country has nearly doubled to 558,000.'' The California Endowment and the entertainment industry want to work together to raise awareness of the foster-care crisis in Southern California, officials said. ``Gathering various sectors together to brainstorm will develop ways to address the problem and will educate our local community about foster-care reform and adoption,'' said Michelle Kydd Lee, executive director of Creative Artists Agency, the Beverly Hills talent and literary agency that represents many artists working in film, television, music, theater and video games See video game console. . The foster-care symposium at the Creative Artists Agency will include a round-table discussion followed by a forum. Both segments of the symposium will be moderated by Leon E. Wynter, ``Business and Race'' columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a regular contributor to National Public Radio. The round-table discussion will involve 20 key leaders and decision- makers whose work is devoted to improving the foster-care system in Southern California. ``What we are doing here needs to happen in every community throughout California and the nation,'' said Michelle McElroy, executive director of the Bruce Willis Foundation. ``Community leaders who are concerned about the current state of the foster-care system must gather together and figure out ways to combat this crisis. |
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