The Motion Picture & Television Fund and Rebuilding Together Team-Up to Assist Entertainment Industry Seniors

The Motion Picture & Television Fund and Rebuilding Together Team-Up to Assist Entertainment Industry Seniors

Jodie Foster, Thora Birch and Xzibit Don Work Clothes and Help Volunteers

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- While Armani and Versace will probably be among the favored fashions at the upcoming Academy Awards(R), overalls and t-shirts were the outfit of choice today among Jodie Foster, Thora Birch, Xzibit and other members of the entertainment industry who volunteered to help The Motion Picture & Television Fund and Rebuilding Together launch a new home revitalization program for entertainment industry senior citizens.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund, the entertainment industry's premier health and social services charity, and Rebuilding Together, the nation's largest volunteer home rehabilitation organization, kicked-off the program this morning as Jodie Foster joined other volunteers in the day-long project to repair and revitalize the home of a retired television studio engineer. Also lending a hand at the launch event was IATSE Local 767, Local 729, Local 80 and Local 44.

"We are combining Rebuilding Together's home revitalization expertise with the Motion Picture & Television Fund's focus on helping its own to create something that will have tremendous impact on the lives of industry members," said Ken Scherer, CEO of the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation. "Our commitment to help seniors remain independent, safe and well was embraced last year with a $5 million grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for community outreach like Rebuilding Together. We are grateful to the Board of the Academy and we salute their incredible belief in our mission."

The program will be supervised by Rebuilding Together and implemented by the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which is recruiting volunteers from the entertainment industry and gathering materials donations from local businesses.

"We are extremely excited to see our home modification work being adopted and implemented by another non-profit to better help those it serves," said Patricia Riley Johnson, president and CEO of Rebuilding Together. "The senior population is rapidly increasing and it is becoming apparent that we need to help seniors stay in their homes. More than 90 percent of all seniors want to remain independent and living in their own homes as long as possible."

Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest non-profit organization whose mission is to revitalize houses of low-income homeowners, particularly those who are elderly, disabled or families with children. Rebuilding Together operates through 250 affiliates nationwide that serve 1,789 cities/towns across the country. Each year, more than 267,000 volunteers help refurbish and revitalize nearly 10,000 houses. For more information on Rebuilding Together, please visit its website: www.rebuildingtogether.org.

For almost 85 years, the Motion Picture & Television Fund has been a major service organization, promoting the well-being of California's entertainment community. Healthcare and childcare, retirement care and charitable social services are provided with compassion and respect for the dignity of the whole person. Charity is at the heart of what MPTF does at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's Country House and hospital, five health centers, Samuel Goldwyn Foundation Children's Center, and through financial assistance and community outreach programs. For more information about MPTF visit www.mptvfund.org.

Contact: Steve Honig
The Honig Company, Inc.
310-246-1801
press@honigcompany.com

Note to media: high resolution images from the event are available by contacting The Honig Company, Inc., at 310-246-1801 or press@honigcompany.com.

Source: The Motion Picture & Television Fund

CONTACT: Steve Honig of The Honig Company, Inc., +1-310-246-1801,
press@honigcompany.com, for The Motion Picture & Television Fund

Web site: http://www.mptvfund.org/
http://www.rebuildingtogether.org/

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