Tea Leoni (Madam Secretary) and Tom Selleck (Blue Bloods) were the biggest stars at Super Bowl 50. Why? Because they starred in PSA’s produced by CBS Cares featuring I Have a Dream Foundation. The PSA with Téa Leoni ran 5 minutes before the coin toss, and the one with Tom Selleck ran early in the fourth quarter. February 7th was a very exciting day for us! The whole world was watching Super Bowl ads as much as they were watching the game. We wrote about this social media phenomenon.

CBS Cares PSA’s for I Have a Dream Foundation – Los Angeles (IHADLA) starring Mayim Bialik of Big Bang Theory and LL Cool J ran November 27th to December 29th. Thank you CBS!

The PSA’s have been seen on SuperGirl, The Big Bang Theory, Madam Secretary, NCIS, Amazing Race, 60 Minutes, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the I Love Lucy special and more! There were national spots as well as spots specifically created for the Los Angeles market with the IHADLA.org website.

CBS won a Communicator Award of Excellence for this campaign (announced in May 2017). This is the 23rd annual awards by AVIVA, the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. “The Communicator Awards honors work that transcends innovation and craft – work that made a lasting impact.”

The IHADLA CBS public service campaign focuses on educational support and mentoring for young students in low-income areas. “The ‘I Have A Dream’ Foundation impacts diversity and education, two top priorities for the CBS Corporation,” said Josie Thomas, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, CBS Corporation. “This collaboration is an opportunity that will help increase awareness and further the Foundation’s crucial mission of providing long-term support programs aimed at increasing high school graduation and college completion for students in under-resourced public schools.”

We are excited about the support from Mayim Bialik because not only is she a wonderful person, but she is also a neuroscientist on The Big Bang Theory and she actually has a Ph.D in neuroscience! STEM and STEAM are very important workshops that we provide to our IHADLA student Dreamers in after school programs and in field trips as well.

LL Cool J! We so appreciate the support you have given us over the years! Thank you once again!

Thanks LL Cool J for unexpected and delightful “Want to do a mitzvah this Hannukah?” PSA for us.

"Want to do a mitzvah this Hanukkah?"- Something I never expected to hear @llcoolj say. @IHADLA

— Andy Kindler (@AndyKindler) December 13, 2015

Big Bang Theory Star Wars Episode December 17

All of the CBS shows that the PSA’s have run on have been great. The December 17th Big Bang Theory was an event! On the same night that Leonard, Wolowitz and Koothrapali went to the premiere of the new Star Wars movie. This broadcast coincided with the actual premiere of Star Wars, The Force Awakens movie. Sheldon chose not to go to the Star Wars movie and be with Amy (Mayim Bialik) on her birthday – where there was another kind of premiere for that couple. There was much talk about this big step in their relationship.

Episode 194, “The Opening Night Excitation” began with Star Wars style titles:

There were two types of bliss that night at the conclusion of important events:

Christmas Specials TV Shows with the IHADLA CBS PSAs

This was one of the moments on the Big Bang Theory Christmas special that ran Monday, December 21st where Sheldon tastes Amy’s homemade cookies made from his MeeMaw’s special recipe. “They taste like her hugs” he exclaims. A classic from 2014.

And still another new Big Bang Theory to come on Christmas Eve December 24th with our PSA!

60 Minutes Apple CEO, Tim Cook Interview December 20

Another Must Watch TV event, CBS ran the LL Cool J PSA during the Tim Cook Interview which was the first segment on the December 20th show.

Among other revelations in the Tim Cook interview, he showed off the new highly planet-conscious campus they are building.

Téa Leoni Star and Producer of Madam Secretary

A CBS PSA for I Have a Dream Foundation with LL Cool J ran during this episode and later Téa Leoni stars in a PSA for I Have a Dream Foundation during the Super Bowl!

What is CBS Cares?

At the heart of CBS’s public service commitment are the multi award-winning CBS Cares campaigns, consisting of PSAs that usually feature talent from a wide array of CBS programming. Approximately 200 million viewers see one or more of the CBS Cares campaigns each year. These PSAs have embraced a number of causes, none more important than diversity and tolerance. The Nelson Mandela Foundation partnered with CBS Cares for Mr. Mandela’s first-ever PSAs on tolerance in the U.S. These PSAs were seen in the U.S. and 82 other countries. Each year, CBS Cares airs PSAs to honor Black History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Native American Heritage Month.  CBS Cares also worked with the NAACP in developing PSAs that marked its 100th anniversary. Additionally, it worked with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Trust on PSAs to raise funds for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. CBS Cares annually marks the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with PSAs featuring Congressman John Lewis, who marched with Dr. King. CBS Cares annually marks Memorial Day and Veterans Day with special PSAs honoring American military veterans. Another set of PSAs honor the victims of the Nazi Holocaust and run annually on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

What is I Have a Dream Foundation – Los Angeles (IHADLA)?

“I Have a Dream” Foundation – Los Angeles (IHADLA) works to break the cycle of poverty by sponsoring entire classes of 3rd graders in low-income academically at risk schools, working with students for 10 consecutive years through high school graduation and into college. Upon the completion of high school, each student is guaranteed an $8,000 scholarship to be used for college or career training. IHADLA helps inner-city youth who are at risk for school failure to reach their full potential. The sponsored students, whom we call “Dreamers”, are not the only ones who benefit from the program; siblings, parents, other students in the school, and local community members also feel the positive impact of IHADLA’s educational and enrichment offerings.

How Can I Help I Have a Dream Foundation – Los Angeles (IHADLA)?

We welcome mentors, tutors, volunteers and of course donations.

If you are not in Los Angeles to help in person and don’t wish to donate money at this time, you can still help! If you follow any of IHADLA’s social profiles @IHADLA on Twitter and Instagram; subscribe to us on YouTube, or circle us on GooglePlus, you will be helping us build awareness through those social avenues. That is a gift we very much appreciate!

CBS Cares I Have a Dream Foundation TV Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) Premiered Nov 27 During Amazing Race

The national campaign.

Eugene Lang adopted a Harlem class of 60 students to support them graduating from high school. His efforts became a foundation headquartered in New York which now has 16 affiliates around the United States, including of course “I Have a Dream” Foundation – Los Angeles (IHADLA). I Have a Dream Foundation was featured on 60 Minutes in 1986 and in this 2004 story about the foundation from CBS.