RAISE ME UP LAUNCHES FOSTER CARE MEDIA CAMPAIGN

A lot of people are under the impression that in order to impact the life of a child in foster care, they have to become a foster parent. Raise Me Up wants to show people how easy it is to dramatically change the life of a vulnerable child in foster care with just a small commitment of time. Get the facts.

The message of the Raise Me Up campaign is: “You don’t have to raise a foster child to raise them up. You just have to raise your hand and say you’ll help.” New Jerseyans will be invited to visit the Raise Me Up Web site through powerful television, radio and transit advertisements where they will learn about a variety of ways to

volunteer and help youth across the state and right in their own community.

Goals of the Raise Me Up campaign:

• Strengthen families and improve the lives of millions of children.

• Inspire action and engagement.

• Focus people on the real challenges facing children in foster care.

Hear personal stories

GET INVOLVED.

Find opportunities to volunteer in New Jersey.

Find opportunities nationwide

For more information contact:

New Jersey Department of Children and Families

Office of Communications and Legislation

222 South Warren Street – 3rd Floor

P.O. Box 729

Trenton, NJ 08625

Phone: 609-262-0422

Fax: 609-777-0443

Email: Communications@dcf.state.nj.us

Web site: www.nj.gov/dcf

VOICES SELECT| THEATER

I've wanted to write about Spring Awakening ever since I heard Duncan Sheik interviewed on NPR a week ago. Mind you I haven't seen the play personally, but I love the story and concept. Then I was reminded again when I watched the first hour of the Tony Awards and it was winning left and right. I didn't watch to the end, but this play won 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical. I’m not at all surprised.

Spring Awakening takes its inspiration from one of literature’s most controversial masterpieces – a work so daring in its depiction of teenage self-discovery, it was banned from the stage and not performed in its complete form in English for nearly 100 years.

This story is about 2 teen lovers, living in a repressed society. It speaks about taboo subjects like suicide, abuse and abortion and is performed to contemporary, hip music. It reminds me of the tone in RENT which I have seen three times and have the soundtrack on my iPod and on CD. I favor theater, art and media that speak to youth in original and modern ways. Spring Awakening appears to ‘fit-the-bill’ -- fresh and innovative, and I think we can all applaud that, especially when there are so many remakes of old works. It is truly refreshing to see theatrical Producers and Directors taking on more original pieces rather than rehashing the tried-and-true productions. Those certainly have their place, but artists should be responsible to show the present culture--our time-frame, or at least adopt/adapt the art within our modern culture. That is all we have to leave behind for future generations to visualize the place we are in now-- ten years into the Millennium.

Adapting old stories so that they resonate contemporaneously is difficult and risky business. But with originality, creative producers can serve up entertainment and inspiration to people of all ages. Maybe they will even go one step further and offer solutions. I’m sure Spring Awakenings is well worth the ticket to a few hours of fun and enjoyment.