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NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Frustrated with the slow pace of implementation of newborn screening for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID), Vicki and Fred Modell decided to coordinate and fund the effort themselves. Today, they announced a multi-million dollar commitment to screen every baby born in every state for this life threatening condition, often referred to as “bubble boy disease.”

The Modells established the Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) 25 years ago in memory of their son Jeffrey, who lost his battle with Primary Immunodeficiency (PI) at the age of 15. There are more than 150 genetic defects that are classified under the umbrella of PI. The NIH estimates that at least 500,000 Americans are affected and most are undiagnosed. SCID is the most serious of the disorders and is characterized by experts as a “Pediatric Emergency.”

Babies born with SCID fail to develop a functional immune system. They appear normal and healthy at birth, causing delayed diagnosis until they are repeatedly hospitalized for life threatening infections. Undetected and untreated, SCID leads to death before the baby’s first birthday. But with Newborn Screening, they can now be diagnosed and then cured with a bone marrow transplant. The cost of the screening test, called TRECs, is $4 per baby. To date, the Jeffrey Modell Foundation has contributed over $3 million towards programs of Newborn Screening. Affected babies with SCID are already being identified, transplanted, and cured in several states, including California, New York, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Louisiana. Overall, only 50 percent of all babies born in the United States live in states that screen for SCID or have stated their intention to screen if funding is available.

Mike and Missy Bornheimer were lucky enough to have lived in Wisconsin (the first state to screen). Her baby, Dawson, was born with SCID and was screened, diagnosed, treated, and cured and now is a healthy three and half year-old boy. Missy offered Testimony to the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2010. The Committee voted the same day to recommend adding the SCID test to the core panel of newborn screening tests. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius approved the recommendation shortly thereafter.

“Two years later, we are just approaching halfway to completing our mission so that every baby in every state can be screened for this fatal disease and those afflicted can be cured,” according to Fred Modell. “We have not raised all of the funds as yet, but we are confident.”

Vicki Modell added, “We have heard from too many grieving parents whose babies were tragically lost to SCID. But now that we can screen and cure babies that are affected, we just can’t stand by for another day, and watch precious babies die. We will be offering funding to every state that implements a Population Screening Program for SCID. This is an historic journey and we hope to wipe out this fatal disease forever.”

About Jeffrey Modell Foundation

Vicki and Fred Modell established the Jeffrey Modell Foundation in 1987, in memory of their son Jeffrey, who died at the age of fifteen from complications of Primary Immunodeficiency – a genetic condition that is chronic, serious, and often fatal. JMF is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to early diagnosis, meaningful treatments and, ultimately, cures through research, physician education, public awareness, advocacy, patient support, and Newborn Screening.

For more information about PI, visit www.info4pi.org or email the Jeffrey Modell Foundation at info4pi@jmfworld.org.

Media Contacts:
Vicki Modell, Jeffrey Modell Foundation, (212) 819-0200
Fred Modell, Jeffrey Modell Foundation, (212) 819-0200

SOURCE Jeffrey Modell Foundation

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HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Military Child Education Coalition has received a $150,000 grant from the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the likelihood that military-connected children are college and career ready. With both organizations striving to ensure young people reach their full potential, the partnership reflects a shared goal of providing all students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed beyond high school—in college, career, and life.

In keeping with its mission to ensure educational opportunities for the nation’s nearly 2 million military-connected children, the Military Child Education Coalition will advocate for clear and consistent educational standards across all 50 states. Frequently referred to as Common Core Standards, adoption and implementation of standards in core subject areas such as math, science, reading-language arts, and social studies will benefit all students.

According to Dr. Mary M. Keller, President and CEO of Military Child Education Coalition, Common Core Standards (CCS) are especially beneficial to military-connected children who move three times more frequently than their civilian classmates or experience the turbulence of separation from a parent. These children, with parents serving in the Active Duty, National Guard or Reserve forces, have unique challenges related to the continuity of their learning progress.

“Common Core Standards (CCS) are essential for military-connected students because they increase the predictability and continuity of our highly mobile students’ academic experiences,” explains Dr. Keller. Though frequent school moves can have an adverse impact on student progress in all content areas, the Military Child Education Coalition research and experience clearly substantiates mathematics as the area of highest need and advocacy campaigns will reflect that focus.

This significant effort is paramount in providing needed support to children whose parents support our nation. There are approximately 1.2 million school-aged military-connected children in the U.S. Approximately 80% of these students attend public school and the remaining attend Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe and the Pacific, private and parochial schools or are home-schooled.

ABOUT THE MILITARY CHILD EDUCATION COALITION

Founded in 1998, the Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®) is a 501(c)(3) global, nonprofit leadership and advocacy organization focused on ensuring quality educational opportunities for America’s two million military-connected children affected by mobility, family separation, and transition. For more information, visit www.MilitaryChild.org.

SOURCE Military Child Education Coalition

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UNRIVALED TOY CHEST OF ENTERTAINMENT AND LICENSING SUPPORT FOR WORLD-CLASS PORTFOLIO TO BE SHOWCASED

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – The Bat-Signal has summoned “The Caped Crusader” to an adventurous Toy Fair season. Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) is showcasing a powerful roster of global licensees in support of the studio’s unparalleled portfolio of entertainment properties, led by this summer’s blockbuster film The Dark Knight Rises.  The epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan‘s phenomenally popular Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, hits theaters July 20, 2012, and will be accompanied by a bevy of products from DC Comics master toy licensee, Mattel, and many other toy partners.  

“We are heading into this year’s toy fairs with an impressive and diverse portfolio of partners converging upon a remarkably robust slate of content,” said Brad Globe, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products.  “Batman is a perennial success in the toy category, but when we have a film like The Dark Knight Rises driving so much anticipation, it creates global excitement for new products, especially toys and collectibles.”

“Batman is among the most iconic super heroes in popular culture, and this year’s merchandise program, highlighted by The Dark Knight Rises, reflects the incredible legacy of Christopher Nolan‘s trilogy, as well as the longevity of the character over the course of time and across all forms of entertainment,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

As a master toy partner, Mattel will unveil an exciting Batman toy collection across a range of categories including action figures, vehicles, playsets and collectible figures.  Mattel’s broad offering incorporates their highly anticipated Movie Masters™ line for the older fans and serious collectors which captures the superior accuracy and details of the characters from The Dark Knight Rises. In addition, the authentic film-inspired toys introduce the innovative play technology QuickTek™, which offers snap-and-slide armor and accessories.

Mattel also plans to introduce the evergreen Batman Power Attack™ line that is designed to maintain the super hero’s momentum this year, and beyond.  Additionally, Mattel will reach the youngest of Batman fans with Fisher-Price’s range of DC Super Friends Imaginext® toy line, which is already a huge hit in the U.S., U.K. and Spain, and is set to expand across Europe. 

WBCP is also proud to build on its long-standing relationship and success with LEGO, the official partner in the construction category, with a myriad of new product offerings for the entire DC Universe Super Heroes line. Included within the new line are DC Universe inspired construction sets, mini-figures and buildable characters for great build-and-play adventures.

The world of DC Comics offers something for fans of all ages as WBCP and its partners gear up with a host of product lines including preschool games featuring DC Super Friends from Wonder Forge; a signature line of premium collectibles, art prints and articulated figures from Sideshow Collectibles; and a wide range of costume products from Rubie’s Costume Co., based on the entire DC Comics portfolio, including The Dark Knight Rises.  With additional product support for The Dark Knight Rises, Funko will introduce their fun stylized plush and vinyl collection; Mezco will unmask colorfully detailed vinyl figures; and Hornby Hobbies will rev it up with a Scalextric limited edition Batman Tumbler vehicle; among many others.

WBCP Partners with Licensees in Support of Additional Blockbuster Properties

WBCP continues to align with top licensees around the world to support an unprecedented amount of Warner Bros. entertainment content, including more upcoming blockbuster films and diverse animation fare, to bring best-in-class creative products that range from toddler toys to the world of high-end collectibles.

“With Batman leading the way for us this year, we are also excited to have one of the most diverse portfolio of toy partners that we’ve had in some time– and the content to support them. We have a great animated series offering including The Looney Tunes Show, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, ThunderCats and the new DC Nation block featuring Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice, all on Cartoon Network, as well as the highly-anticipated films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again in December 2013,” added Globe.

The Two Films Based on The Hobbit Prepare for the Journey Back to Middle-earth

Master toy partners The Bridge Direct and Vivid Group will develop product for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 2012) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (December 2013), productions of New Line Cinema and MGM.  Also supporting the tent-pole, two-part adventure is LEGO with a range of fantastical build-and-play construction sets; Games Workshop with the leading tabletop hobby wargames; Ravensburger with the creation of 2D and 3D puzzles and card games; and WETA Workshop with a wide range of authentic film prop replicas and collectibles, among others.

Animated Fare, Including Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo and ThunderCats, Continues to Delight Fans

A cornerstone property for WBCP, Looney Tunes continues to be classically familiar yet refreshingly new, thanks to The Looney Tunes Show from Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), which has introduced the beloved characters to a new generation of kids and sparked their interest in the classic animated series.  The all-time favorite is supported by an exciting and ever-expanding licensing program with licensees such as Lansay with a colorful plush assortment; and Rubie’s Costumes Co. with a collection of costumes based on Looney Tunes characters. As Scooby-Doo’s global master toy licensee, Character Group continues to bring everyone’s favorite Great Dane and his mystery-solving gang to life with a range of products including figures, plush toys, vehicles and play sets. Pressman Toy offers exciting games; NKOK debuts R/C motorized vehicles to rev-up the mysteries; and Lansay brings a cool and flashing remote control car that will light up many kids’ faces. Additionally, global toy partner Bandai America Incorporated continues to support the new ThunderCats animated series, based on the iconic 1980′s original, which has multiple generations of loyal fans with an action-packed toy line.   

Highly Anticipated DC Nation Invasion Coming Soon

Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block, a multi-platform franchise featuring programming produced by Warner Bros. Animation (WBA), including Green Lantern: The Animated Series and an all-new season of Young Justice, will also debut in 2012.  Backed by the production, publishing and marketing resources of Warner Bros., DC Entertainment and Cartoon Network, DC Nation will be the home  for original animated kids television programming based on DC Comics properties and will be populated with event programming, interstitials, exclusive behind-the-scenes segments from theatrical productions, and an insider look into the world of all things DC Comics.  DC Nation is set to debut in the U.S. in early 2012 on Cartoon Network.  The content that makes up DC Nation is expected to launch in markets around the world thereafter.

For more information or to access property assets, please visit www.wbcpmedia.warnerbros.com.

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

About DC Entertainment

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner.  DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.  In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We Can Be Heroes—a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes—to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

About Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, with an innovative and talent-rich roster boasting some of the most accomplished writers, producers and artists working today. The studio is on the cutting edge of animation technology and has both CG and traditionally animated projects in current production and development. For TV, WBA produces series such as Green Lantern: The Animated Series, The Looney Tunes Show, MAD, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, ThunderCats and Young Justice, for Cartoon Network. WBA also produces series and additional original content for Cartoon Network’s multiplatform branded DC Nation programming block, which debuts in 2012. In addition to TV series, WBA produces theatrically released CG cartoon shorts featuring iconic Looney Tunes characters, rendered in stereoscopic 3D. WBA also creates the highly successful series of DC Universe Original Animated Movies for DVD. Producing for multiple platforms including TV, digital and home entertainment both domestically and internationally, WBA is highly respected for its creative and technical excellence, as well as for maintaining the Studio’s rich cartoon heritage. It is also the home of the iconic animated characters from the DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has been honored with six Academy Awards®, 35 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

Media Contacts:

Janice Aguilar-Herrero
Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Worldwide Public Relations
818/954-3821
janice.aguilar-herrero@warnerbros.com

Corina Galdamez
Edelman on behalf of Warner Bros. Consumer Products
323/761-6511
E-mail requests for materials:
corina.galdamez@edelman.com

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

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BATMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

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© New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc.

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© New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc.

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MAN OF STEEL and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

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THUNDERCATS and all related characters and elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and © of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc and Ted Wolf.

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LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera.

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SOURCE Warner Bros. Consumer Products

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It’s Earth-friendly; It’s Made in America; It’s Built to Last; and It’s No Bozo.

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BROOKLYN, N.Y., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – In the 1960′s, America’s favorite clown was one of the first and most popular inflatable bop bags to hit toy shelves. How many bop bags were sold back then? If you visit landfills nationwide, you just might be able to take count since these toys were made with non-biodegradable plastics that can take hundreds or even thousands of years to degrade naturally into the earth. Today’s bop comes in many different themes and sizes and has the same eco-unfriendly demeanor. “We wanted to give our son the active-play experience that we remembered, but couldn’t get past the environmental concerns,” said Donna Brin, President and Co-Founder of Pueri Elemental LLC. She continued. “There had to be a way to make this toy better?” So they bought one and it leaked water straightaway; they bought another one and it sagged overnight; by the third one, a product concept was born.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120201/NY45262 )

Pueri Elemental LLC makes its debut at Toy Fair NY 2012 with Eco-Bonk, the first inflatable bop bag that is made from biodegradable plastic and developed, manufactured and assembled in the USA. Eco-Bonk offers superior quality, rugged durability and peace of mind that it is healthier for children to play with and safer for the environment around them … our plastic is manufactured with a revolutionary additive technology, enabling it to degrade naturally into the earth in 9 months to 5 years.

Eco-Bonk is custom-fitted with plush 100% certified organic cotton covers and printed with fun-loving animals that are not only designed, but also destined to ‘bounce back’ … Pueri will donate 1% of the sales proceeds to Wildlife Alliance, the leader in providing direct protection to forest and wildlife in the Southeast Asian tropical belt. Your Eco-Bonk purchase comes with a web storybook free trial that gives young readers an opportunity to connect with, relate to, and ultimately befriend Eco-Bonk creatures through beautifully animated interactive stories that bring parenting challenges into an animal’s world and empower children to think for themselves, to learn about wildlife and to embrace charity.

Based in Brooklyn, New York and founded by Donna and Daniel Brin in 2011, Pueri Elemental LLC strives to be a leading eco-innovator of active-play toys that are specifically designed for empowering children to Play. Move. Learn.  

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Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:03pm EST

(Reuters) – Madonna says it’s pretty obvious why she was drawn to the story of Wallis Simpson — the American divorcee who was vilified for persuading a British king to give up his throne in order to marry her.

The sometimes prickly pop superstar said she had been fascinated for years by Simpson before deciding to write and direct her second film, “W.E”, which opens widely in U.S. movie theaters on Friday.

The movie chronicles the romance and 1930s marriage of King Edward VIII and Simpson, who were shunned by British society after Edward renounced the throne to be with her.

“I could understand a lot of aspects of Wallis Simpson’s life, having people … view you from the outside, make judgments about you, have opinions about you, write things about you that are untrue – and not feel like you are able to defend yourself, that sometimes kind of makes you feel helpless,” Madonna, 53, told Reuters Television in an interview.

“She didn’t commit a crime, she fell in love … She says in the film, ‘If you do this, if we get married, I will be the most hated woman in the world,’ and she was …. Obviously I can relate to her life on certain levels. I think that a lot of people who are public figures have the same experience,” Madonna said.

Madonna, who moved to England during her second marriage, to British director Guy Ritchie, said she too has made sacrifices for love.

“Whether you move to another country and you give up your roots, or when you have children — you love your children, but you have to give up say your free time, your sleep. So I think we are in the process of making those sacrifices for love on a daily basis if we’re in relationships or if we have children,” she said.

“W.E” stars Abbie Cornish as a New Yorker in the 1990s who becomes infatuated with the marriage between Edward and Simpson who is played by Andrea Riseborough.

The film has been characterized by movie critics as visually stunning but lacking in focus. But Madonna won the best original movie song Golden Globe in January for “Masterpiece” from the “W.E” soundtrack.

The first song from her new album “MDNA,” which marks her return to music after focusing on the movie, is set to be released on Friday. Called “Give Me All Your Luvin,” it features Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.

Madonna will be also performing on Sunday in the half-time show at the National Football League Super Bowl — the biggest television and sporting event of the year in the United States.

(Reporting by Alicia Powell; Writing by Jill Serjeant)

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