Contact:  Jake Yunker, Associate Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, 202-456-6315

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 /Standard Newswire/ -- The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives will convene a Compassion in Action Roundtable with a discussion entitled "Faith-Based and Community Solutions for Orphans and Vulnerable Children" on Friday, November 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  The event will feature Jedd Medefind, Deputy Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and actor, producer and adoption advocate Eduardo Verástegui, who stars in the adoption-themed movie Bella, as well as non-governmental organizations and government officials working in the field of adoption and orphan care.

The event will explore innovative domestic and international models for solving the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. An estimated 143 million children face the world as orphans in the developing world today, while an even larger number of children are highly vulnerable.  In the U.S. alone, 514,000 children live in our foster care system, and approximately 115,000 of them are waiting to be adopted. Without parents, children are often deprived of the love and protection they need and are susceptible to abuse, illness, poverty and other injustices.

Compassion in Action Roundtable

"Faith-Based and Community Solutions for Orphans and Vulnerable Children"

WHERE:       

Room 450

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

WHEN: 

Friday, November 16, 2007

9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST

Members of the press must be at the Northwest Appointment Gate by 9:00 a.m. EST.

NOTE:          

Members of the press who do not have a White House press credential must fax his or her name (as it appears on his or her driver's license), Social Security number and date of birth on company letterhead to (202) 456-7019 no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 15, 2007.  For additional credentialing or logistical questions, please call (202) 456-6315.