Virgin Mobile USA Supports 'Carissa,' Riveting Documentary About Life on the Streets as a Teen

Virgin Mobile USA Supports 'Carissa,' Riveting Documentary About Life on the Streets as a Teen

The RE*Generation Partners with One Woman and Her Experience to Build Awareness for First 'National Homeless Youth Awareness Month'

November Designated By Congress To Battle Youth Homelessness Crisis

WARREN, N.J., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- As youth homelessness reaches crisis proportions in the U.S., an estimated one million teens and children have no home to call their own -- and little voice in society to tell their individual stories. As part of the first "National Homeless Youth Awareness Month" in November, which Virgin Mobile USA was instrumental in having Congress designate, the wireless no annual contract provider is joining forces with one former homeless woman to give voice to her compelling saga.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070613/VIRGINMOBILE )

"Carissa" tells the real-life story of Carissa Phelps who, at the age of 12, was abandoned by her mother in the lobby of Fresno's Juvenile Hall. Feeling unsafe and with few resources available, she fled to the streets where, homeless and alone, she had to take care of herself. The documentary explores Carissa's life on the streets between ages 12 and 14, following her to the exact locations where it all took place. The film also captures Carissa in her final year at UCLA, where she recently graduated with joint law and MBA degrees. She hopes the film will change the way the world sees homeless and at-risk youth.

Efforts for "National Homeless Youth Awareness Month" are part of The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile USA's pro-social partnership with StandUp For Kids, YouthNoise and Children's Health Fund to effect change in the lives of homeless youth. The RE*Generation is designed to help a generation help its own.

Virgin Mobile will offer a special advance preview of clips from this touching film -- directed and produced by David Sauvage and executive produced by Davis Guggenheim [Academy Award-winning director of "An Inconvenient Truth"] -- at The RE*Generation Art Gallery Auction and Benefit taking place in New York in early November.

"The RE*Generation partnership makes so much sense," said Phelps. "Virgin Mobile is not just helping us make a film; the company has also connected me to nonprofit organizations that can use my story to help homeless youth. National Homeless Youth Awareness Month will do more than bring attention to this issue -- it strategically supports organizations that are focused on youth empowerment. We're not just trying to raise awareness; we are seeking to change the situation for homeless youth in the U.S. from one of hopelessness to one that looks a lot more like the American dream."

"Carissa is an amazing and motivating woman, someone we are honored to know and support," said Ariel Rosen, director of Virgin Mobile USA's Pro- Social Initiatives. "Her story is a powerful one, and allows us to begin to grasp the day-to-day reality faced by kids living on the streets. These kids are not there by choice and have to beg, steal, sell drugs or their bodies to survive. Virgin Mobile's goal in all activities related to National Homeless Youth Awareness Month is to get people to recognize that there are over 1 million kids living on the streets and, most importantly, get them to do something about it."

As a kick-off to National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Carissa will be the keynote at the 5th annual "Girl Summit" on October 30, 2007 -- a San Jose, CA event hosted by the national nonprofit Girls For A Change (http://www.girlsforachange.org/) that brings together over 1,000 teen girls with over 500 professional women to empower girls to create and lead social change in their communities.

The documentary "Carissa" will be submitted to the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, considered the premier U.S. showcase for American and international independent film. The private advance screening in New York is a part of Virgin Mobile activities specially planned for National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, along with:

    -- Specially-commissioned works for The RE*Generation Gallery by 21       internationally renowned artists, visually interpreting what it means       to be alone and living "on the fringe."  The art is available for       viewing and bidding online now at http://www.regenerationgallery.com/,       leading up to the November event.     -- TXT2CLOTHE, an ongoing program allowing mobile phone users from any       wireless carrier to text the word "KARMA" to number 68405, and trigger       one piece of clothing from our supply of donations to be given to a       young person in need through StandUp For Kids programs nationwide.       TXT2CLOTHE is also supported by American Eagle Outfitters and Levi       Strauss Signature.   

More information can be found at http://www.virginmobileusa.com/regeneration.

About Virgin Mobile USA, LLC:

The nation's leading youth wireless provider, Virgin Mobile USA offers more than 4.8 million customers control, flexibility and choice in wireless service, rich data content and innovative products without annual contracts. Voice pricing plans range from monthly options with unlimited nights and weekends to by-the-minute offers, allowing consumers to adjust how and what they pay according to their needs. Virgin Mobile's full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets, including the popular Marbl, Slice and Cyclops, are available at top retailers in more than 35,000 locations nationwide and online at http://www.virginmobileusa.com/, with Top-Up cards available at more than 130,000 locations.

Virgin Mobile USA's national coverage is powered by the nationwide Sprint PCS network; the company, which launched in 2002, is a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel. J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Virgin Mobile highest in customer satisfaction among wireless prepaid services for two years in a row, and its own customers regularly report a greater than 90% satisfaction rate. Virgin Mobile contributes 5% of profits from downloadable content to The RE*Generation, and provides postage-paid return envelopes in every new package for customers to recycle old phones.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070613/VIRGINMOBILE
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Virgin Mobile USA, LLC

CONTACT: Jayne Wallace of Virgin Mobile USA, +1-908-607-4014, or
jayne.wallace@virginmobileusa.com; or Thea Linscott of CooperKatz & Co.,
+1-212-455-8045, or tlinscott@cooperkatz.com, for Virgin Mobile USA, LLC

Web site: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/regeneration
http://www.girlsforachange.org/
http://www.regenerationgallery.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment