James Berk, Hill Harper and Sara Ramirez to receive the “I Have a Dream”® Foundation – Los Angeles’ “Dream Keeper Awards” January 27, 2008

James Berk, Hill Harper and Sara Ramirez to receive the “I Have a Dream”® Foundation – Los Angeles’ “Dream Keeper Awards”
At 10th Annual Gospel Brunch on Sunday, January 27th

Jennifer Garner to return as host

(December 12, 2007 – Los Angeles) – James Berk, CEO of Participant Productions, Hill Harper, star of CSI: NY and author of Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny and Tony Award winner and star of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Sara Ramirez, will be honored with the Dream Keeper Award at the 10th Annual “I Have a Dream”® Foundation - Los Angeles’ Gospel Brunch on Sunday, January 27th in honor of their commitment to education.

Jennifer Garner returns to host the brunch, where in addition several Dreamers, students served by the Foundation, will be in attendance for live gospel music and a fabulous Southern-style buffet at the Sunset Strip House of Blues.

The Dream Keeper Award is presented annually to members of the community who share the foundation’s vision of a strong commitment to mentor and foster the academic development of children in Los Angeles. The recipients of the Dream Keeper Awards are celebrated, as well as the honor and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose words inspired the “I Have a Dream”® movement.
“We are thrilled to present the Dream Keeper Award to James Berk, Hill Harper and Sara Ramirez for their remarkable efforts on behalf of children’s education,” said Wendy Free, Executive Director, “I Have a Dream”® Foundation Los Angeles. “All three are wonderful examples of giving back to our community and making sure that our future generations will have the power to make a positive difference in the world.”

The I Have a Dream Foundation - Los Angeles, founded in 1987, has helped to fulfill the academic dreams of nearly 1000 Dreamers in the Los Angeles area. IHAD-LA “adopts” an entire first grade class in an area of the city where the dropout rate approaches 60% and provides that class with free, year-round academic and cultural programs, mentoring and tutoring from first through twelfth grades. Dreamers stay in school and graduate high school at twice the rate of other students in Los Angeles’ public schools. After graduation IHAD-LA provides a scholarship to help Dreamers attend college or vocational school.

About the I Have a Dream Foundation
The “I Have a Dream Foundation”® motivates and empowers children from low-income communities to achieve their education and career goals through a long-term program of mentoring, tutoring, academic and cultural enrichment, and tuition assistance for higher education. Local IHAD programs adopt an entire class of students from elementary schools, or a same-age group of children from a housing project, and work with these children and their families through high school. This long-term, sustained commitment is the critical element to the success of projects.

The “I Have a Dream”® model was created in 1981 by New York City businessman Eugene Lang, who sponsored the first I Have a Dream project. In 1986, the national I Have a Dream Foundation was established. Since then, 196 projects have helped more than 15,000 “Dreamers.” Currently, 67 projects operate in 16 states and one in New Zealand, with additional programs being developed.
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Individual tickets for the brunch are $250, tables are $3,500, $7,500, $15,000, $25,000, and to sponsor the event is $75,000. For ticket information please call Gloria Valenzuela at 213.572.0175, or [email protected].

Media Contacts:
mPRm Public Relations
Lisa Bustamante
323.933-3399
[email protected]