PSA
for Television
A
30-second public service announcement for television featuring actor Michael
O'Leary of CBS's Guiding Light has been produced and is available for airing on your
local CBS station. The PSA features two children, Drew
Plaisted and Nora Waananen.
Your help is needed to see that this informative PSA is aired!
Here's what to do:
-
Call your local CBS television station and ask to speak to the Public Service or Community Relations Director.
-
Tell them you volunteer for a nonprofit organization that advocates saving babies through newborn screening.
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Tell them that one of the actors on CBS’s Guiding Light did a public service announcement taping.
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Ask them to air the tape around Guiding Light’s air time as frequently as possible. Be sure to get the address of where to send the tape.
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Contact Save Babies Through Screening Foundation toll-free at 1-888-454-3383 and tell us where to send the tape.
About the PSA
Michael
O’Leary, long-time actor on CBS’s Guiding Light, and his producer, Sheryl
Fuchs, graciously donated their time and talent to produce, on Guiding Light’s
set, a public service announcement, or PSA as the industry commonly
calls it. The PSA was written by SBTS Foundation. On the Guiding Light, Michael O’Leary plays Dr. Rick Bauer, a
first-time dad and an upstanding, well-liked doctor (chief of ER). He has also
played Dr. Stewart Farmingham on the ABC series Doogie Howser, MD; performed in
an anthology series produced for HBO; acted in films and off-Broadway; and has
written plays as well.
In real life, Mr. O’Leary’s young daughter had a scary bout with RSV when she was a small baby. Fortunately, she has recovered and is doing well. When SBTS Foundation contacted Michael O’Leary with a request to do a PSA, and shared recent press with him, he felt our need for urgency in getting the word out. He called us and said he’d be happy to help us out and do the PSA. God bless him.
The PSA features Drew Plaisted and Nora Waananen. Drew, who was born in New York, died from undiagnosed MCADD when he was 3 years old. Nora died from undiagnosed LCHADD when she was 3 months old. The state in which Nora was born, California, now screens for LCHADD. Many thanks to Drew and Nora's families for sharing their personal stories for this important project. This PSA is dedicated to their memory, and to the memory of all the other children who have needlessly lost their lives to detectable disorders.
Andrew Plaisted
May 7, 1997 - December 27, 2000
Nora
Waananen
March 29, 2001 - August 9, 2001
It wasn’t easy. A camera crew had to be found and retained. Funds weren’t there to pay for a camera crew. Several 20-inch by 30-inch cue cards had to be created and lugged nearly 15 city blocks and back. Scheduling was not simple.
But it happened. Through networking, a camera crew was found. Funds for the cost to retain this camera crew were graciously donated by NeoGen Screening (now PerkinElmer Genetics, Inc.). Cue cards were made and a date was scheduled. The PSA is recorded on a beta tape and is 30 seconds long. Michael O’Leary did a great job!
To air this PSA in your area, contact your local CBS TV station’s Community Relations Director, or your local TV station’s Public Relations Director. You may also contact Wendy at (610) 251-9876 or email for more information.
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