PSAs Raise Awareness About Foster Care and Mentoring
Friday, October 10, 2008

The Home and WCVB-TV/DT team up with the Celtics star Glen "Big Baby" Davis

BOSTON, MA — Glen "Big Baby" Davis of the World Champion Boston Celtics has teamed up with New England’s oldest child and family services agency, The Home for Little Wanderers, and WCVB-TV/DT. The Home and WCVB-TV/DT announced today that Davis will appear in a series of public service announcements, launching this week, on Channel 5. The PSAs are intended to raise awareness about foster care, mentoring, and how having an adult role model can make a lasting impact in the life of a child. The PSA campaign will support The Home for Little Wanderers’ mission to help ensure the healthy, emotional, mental, and social development of children at risk, their families, and communities.

"Last year alone, there were approximately 9,000 children placed in out of home care in the Commonwealth’s child protective services. These children have been removed from their homes as a result of abuse or neglect or unsafe and dangerous conditions. It is our goal to provide these children with a safe and nurturing environment where they can start to heal," explained Joan Wallace-Benjamin, President and CEO, The Home for Little Wanderers. "We believe that all children deserve to have a loving and caring home and a positive role model in their lives, so we are proud to have Glen out there helping us spread the message."

WCVB President and General Manager Bill Fine said, "The Home for Little Wanderers has made a tremendous impact on the lives of children in need. It is a privilege for WCVB to broadcast their message of foster care and mentorship along with a true champion, Glen "Big Baby" Davis."

There is a great need for foster caregivers not only in Massachusetts, but also across the country. The Home for Little Wanderers’ Intensive Foster Care (IFC) program is committed to providing loving and stable homes to children who currently reside in hospitals, residential programs, temporary foster care homes, or with birth parents who are unable to care for them.

The Home is actively recruiting foster caregivers for its Intensive Foster Care and Boston’s Hope programs and mentors to partner with teens and adolescents throughout its programs.

The PSAs will run on WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5 through October 2009. To view the PSAs online, visit www.thebostonchannel.com/community. 
 

About WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5
WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5 is New England’s top-rated news station for local, live coverage. The first and only station in the Boston market to broadcast in high definition, WCVB was founded by community leaders in 1972, and has remained committed to its mission to serve the region with quality local programming. Chronicle, WCVB’s award-winning newsmagazine, airs weeknights at 7:30PM. The unrivaled programming also includes CityLine, a weekly urban affairs show, telethons, public service announcements and local specials.

WCVB has been honored with numerous prestigious national broadcasting honors, most recently by the National Headliner Awards. Additionally, the station has been recognized multiple times as Television Station of the Year by the national Gabriel Awards, the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards, the regional Emmy’s, Associated Press Awards, Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, duPont Awards and Gracie Awards.