PARTICIPANT MEDIA’S SOCIAL ACTION CAMPAIGN FOR THE SOLOIST PRESENTS A NEW VOICE TO COVENANT HOUSE—JAMIE FOXX

Participant Media’s social action efforts have delivered a new caring voice to Covenant House to bring hope to kids in crisis: Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx, star of The Soloist, opening in theaters today. “The NINELINE is free, it’s confidential, and it’s for you,” Mr. Foxx assures young callers in a donated taped message being heard by thousands of young people who call the NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) for help off the streets.
 
Calls to NINELINE have increased since implementing Foxx’s message on NINELINE who became involved with Covenant House through The Soloist. Participant’s social action team has developed an educational and awareness building campaign designed to de-stigmatize issues of homelessness and mental illness. Covenant House is one of several agencies working with the film to provide materials and resources to the greater community, for people hoping to learn more about issues of homelessness and those who may need help.
  
John Schreiber, Participant Media’s Executive Vice President of Social Action, said, “Our social action campaigns are designed to take the issues in our films off the screen and into the community, and we join forces with the leading organizations working on these issues for initiatives to make a difference. We’re delighted that we were able to bring Jamie Foxx and Covenant House together for this important element of our social action campaign for The Soloist.”
  
“The fact that Mr. Foxx donated his time for the NINELINE and for our kids is extraordinary,” said Kevin Ryan, President of Covenant House.  “When a kid calls from the street at 4 a.m., he or she can’t hear a message telling them to call back later.  It may have taken that kid two weeks to get up the courage to make that call.
 
“Now kids in crisis will not only hear a reassuring voice, but a well-known, positive role model.  I’m convinced that hearing Jamie’s voice will be the difference for kids who might otherwise get scared and hang up before we can help.  This is a tremendous gift to our kids.  “On behalf of our staff, our volunteers, and especially our kids, I want to thank Jamie Foxx and Participant Media for making the world a little safer for our kids,” said Ryan.  
 
Last year, the NINELINE received over 45,000 calls from kids in crisis.  The calls came from youth on the verge of suicide … from youth on the streets desperate for a safe shelter … from youth being abused at home, and from victims who have just escaped from a trafficker or pimp.
  
With a databank of over 31,000 social service agencies, NINELINE counselors refer callers immediately to help in their area.  Through conference calls, counselors can connect troubled youth with trained experts.   A caller can also speak to on-staff experts who are well versed in the specific challenges faced by homeless young people on the street.
 
Based on a true story, The Soloist is an emotionally soaring drama about lost dreams and the redemptive power of music. In the film, journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives. A Dreamworks Pictures-Universal Pictures presentation in association with Studio Canal and Participant Media, the film was directed by Joe Wright and produced by Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff.
 
About Covenant House
Founded in 1972, Covenant House is the largest privately funded agency in the Americas helping homeless kids, providing 24/7 crisis care and ongoing support at 20 facilities, www.NINELINE.org, Covenant House NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) and www.covenanthouse.org.
 
About Participant Media
Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President.
 
Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives.  For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action.  Participant’s films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good, Night and Good Luck., Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure and The Visitor.