Five Acres hosted a launch event Thursday November 6 at the Armory Center for the Arts to announce its 20,000 By 2020 Campaign and unveil the artistic representation of more than 20,000 children currently in foster care, in Los Angeles; a sculpture named Boy 5A. Boy 5A was revealed by actor and longtime Five Acres supporter, Sam Jaeger (Parenthood.)

Five Acres acknowledged and thanked corporate sponsors including “foster” families Pacific Oaks College, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc/Bank of America, Langham Huntington Hotel, Jones Coffee, The Factory Hair & Makeup Studio and California Bank & Trust. Boy 5A has found a permanent, loving home with Berkshire-Hathaway HomeServices Foundation after they agreed to purchase Boy 5A and keep him on display in one of their Southern California real estate branches.

Likened to the Cow on Parade in Chicago and the Community of Angels Project in LA, Boy 5A is designed to educate the public on the crisis that is the current foster care system. Five Acres’ goal is to help raise awareness and create a sense of urgency for the more than 20,000 children currently living in the foster care s in Los Angeles. Of the over 400,000 children across the nation in foster care, nearly 61,000 are in the state of California and of that number a third live in the city of Los Angeles. We need to act swiftly to expand the pool of potential adoptive parents for these children in crisis. The hope is that Boy 5A will trigger action and more potential foster and adoptive families will step up and make the commitment to either foster or adopt.

Boy 5A will be on display in the seven corporate partners’ public spaces, lobbies, courtyards and offices over a seven week span; representing the many homes and adjustments a foster child experiences while in care. Capturing the joy and hope of the children, Boy 5A will help Five Acres drive home the message that children in foster care are just that – children – with the same basic needs as any of their peers.

The public phase of Boy 5A kicked off last week at the Armory event and he will remain on public view until the first week of January 2015 when Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices “adopts” him and thus culminating the Five Acres permanency campaign, tied to National Adoption Awareness Month.

Boy 5A Schedule:
California Bank and Trust, Pasadena – November 11-18
Merrill Lynch/B of A in DTLA (near Staple Center) November 18- December 1
Pacific Oaks College, Pasadena December 1-December 15
Jones Coffee, Pasadena – December 15-December 22
Langham Huntington Hotel December 22 – January 4, 2015

For more information please go to www.5acres.org/advocacynow or contact Director of Communications, Rebecca Haussling at [email protected] or contact (626) 773-3809.

About Five Acres

Five Acres is a child and family services agency strengthening families and preventing child abuse through treatment and education in community based and residential programs. Established as an orphanage in 1888, today Five Acres offers an array of services including community-based services, residential treatment, foster care and adoption, supporting the nearly 8,400 children and families in five counties, including Los Angeles. www.5acres.org