Who:

Actor / Producer Edward James Olmos
Actor / Writer Anthony Anderson
CA Senator Alex Padilla
U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) AFL-CIO
MEND - Meet Each Need with Dignity

What:

2014 Kick Off for NALC ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ Food Drive

When:

10:30 a.m. PT
Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Where:

MEND - Meet Each Need with Dignity
10641 N. San Fernando Rd.
Pacoima, CA 91331

Note: Spanish-speaking representative will be available for interviews

Background:

On Saturday, May 10, 2014, letter carriers will collect food in every neighborhood across the nation to help stock local food bank shelves that are struggling to keep up with demand. This is the largest one-day food drive in the world. Over one billion pounds of food has been donated during its history.

Special guests, NALC representatives and USPS officials will get the word out at this press event about how easy it is for everyone to help ― just place a sturdy bag of non-perishable food by the mailbox on Saturday, May 10, and letter carriers will pick it up and deliver it to a local food bank. MEND Food Bank representatives will discuss the skyrocketing need for food assistance in the Los Angeles area.

Award-winning actor and producer Edward James Olmos, whose father was a USPS letter carrier, was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Olmos is best known for his acting roles in films such as Stand and Deliver, Selena and Blade Runner; miniseries such as The Burning Season and Hollywood Confidential; and TV shows such as Miami Vice and Battlestar Galactica. He earned a Golden Globe Award for best actor in The Burning Season and was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his lead role in Stand and Deliver.

A social activist, Olmos has been a longtime pioneer for more diversified roles and images of Latinos in the media. In 1997, he co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, and the following year founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its chairman. Olmos also co-founded the non-profit Latino Literacy Now and makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers.  He has also served as an international ambassador for UNICEF.

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Actor, comedian and writer Anthony Anderson was born in Compton, CA, and is an alumnus of Hollywood High School for the Performing Arts and Howard University. He is currently a member of NBC’s Emmy Award-winning drama "Law & Order,” playing Detective Kevin Bernard.

Anderson has appeared in over 20 films, including Kangaroo Jack, My Baby’s Daddy, Hustle & Flow, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, Transformers and Me, Myself and Irene. On television, he starred in his own sitcom, All About the Andersons, as well as in The Bernie Mac Show during the final season. He has also made guest appearances on many shows, including NYPD Blue, The Shield, K-Ville and Rake.

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California Senator Alejandro "Alex" Padilla was elected for California's 20th State Senate district in November 2006. Prior to serving in the CA Senate he served over seven years on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 7th District.

Padilla grew up in the community of Pacoima in Los Angeles and is a graduate of San Fernando High School. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. After graduation, he moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft.

Padilla is a member of the governing board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the President of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. He has served as president of the League of California Cities and was both its youngest-ever president and the first Latino to lead the league. Padilla was named one of America's "100 Most Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business magazine.