OnBuzz, Social Impact Film Company, Joins Forces With Texas Commissioners and Nonprofits to Brainstorm Solutions for Children Aging Out of U.S. Foster Care System
A private screening of an award-winning film that highlights the challenges faced by children aging out of foster care unites change-makers
AUSTIN, Texas, July 24, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Social impact film company, OnBuzz, hosted a private screening of their unreleased film "Friday’s Child," which tells the story of a child aging out of the United States foster care system. Upon the film’s release, OnBuzz will launch its iCan Social Impact Accelerator to create a nationwide movement that raises awareness for foster care and sex trafficking. Advocates for the cause gathered to discuss the film and the social project, and how networks can band together to commence the monumental task of turning the movie into a movement to help foster children succeed when they age out of the system.
"Friday’s Child" tells the story of an 18-year-old boy who ages out of the foster care system-- left alone to his own devices. The film highlights the tragic reality that 25,000 children face every year when they age out of the system with little to no resources necessary to survive let alone thrive; 40 percent become homeless, and 60 percent live a life of crime. With two top international film festival awards and an internationally-acclaimed cast, Tye Sheridan ("Ready Player One"), Imogen Poots ("Green Room"), Caleb Landry Jones ("Get Out"), and Jeffrey Wright ("Westworld"), the film is on track to reach large audiences upon its theatrical release.
Advocates assembled in an Austin theater on the morning of July 18, 2018, representing the Governor’s Commission for Women, the Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team, Texas Department of Family Protection Services, and RWR Legal, on behalf of the Austin-based nonprofit Lifeworks. Tyrone Obaseki, a foster care success story, author, and practicing therapist, was also in attendance. The group came together on the basis of foster care and its tie to sex trafficking; of the 100,000 children that the FBI estimates to be involved in sex trafficking, 60 percent are from the foster care system.
In the spirit of collaboration, the group engaged in an energetic brainstorming session lead by Alan Elias, OnBuzz CEO, and Todd Latiolais, Associate Director of the Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team. The discussion focused on ways to employ the film as a catalyst to address this well-documented $167 billion American tragedy--applying the OnBuzz Social Impact Accelerator to drive positive social change for foster children and to gain momentum around the movement.
“This is a monumental task, but it can be done,” Elias said to the gathering of change-makers.
OnBuzz believes in utilizing media to plant seeds that call people to action and grow positive social impact movements. The company constantly seeks to grow its network of like-minded organizations and individuals with the common goal of helping children who have been failed by the system. Stay tuned for more buzz from the company about "Friday’s Child" and the iCan Social Impact Accelerator.
OnBuzz is an end-to-end film financing, production, distribution, and marketing firm focused on sustainable filmmaking.
If you would like more information, please contact OnBuzz at info@onbuzz.com or +1 (512) 968-3809.
Source: OnBuzz