Sophie's Voice Foundation

The SOPHIE'S VOICE FOUNDATION is a charitable organization supporting family outreach programs, prenatal education and surgical studies for children and adults with Spina Bifida.

The SOPHIE'S VOICE FOUNDATION was founded in 2008 by actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker in honor of their daughter Sophie who was diagnosed with Spina Bifida at birth. The news hit hard, but through consulting with various specialists and by educating themselves they found a way to address their daughter's needs and provide her with the best care and treatment available today.

Spina Bifida or "open spine" is a neural tube birth defect that affects the development of the spinal cord, its membrane (lining), the spinal nerves and the backbone.

It is the most common permanently disabling birth defect - the most complex birth defect compatible with life.
Spina bifida affects three in 10,000 births in the United States and currently an estimated 130,000 people in the United States are currently living with spina bifida
There are 60 million women at risk of having a baby born with spina bifida.

Our newsletter, Voices, is now available online. Please CLICK HERE to read our first issue.

Currently, the SOPHIE'S VOICE FOUNDATION is planning fundraisers across the nation to help finance the Xiao Procedure, a nerve rerouting procedure that could change the lives of Spina Bifida Families everywhere.

MAKE A DONATION TO SOPHIE’S VOICE FOUNDATION FROM YOUR CELL PHONE!

Donate $10 to Sophie’s Voice Foundation (SVF) by texting the word GIVESVF to 85944. Make sure you reply YES to the confirmation text you receive!

Provided by MobileGive.us. A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Messaging & Data Rates may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of Sophie’s Voice Foundation by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP to short code 85944; reply HELP to 85944 for help.

1.03.10

Actress/Singer/Model Milla Jovovich would like to invite everyone to her second Twitterbration to celebrate her 200,000th Twitter follower (@MillaJovovich)!

Milla will be interacting with fans and playing a live concert online at vokle.com with friends Chris Brenner, Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio), and Danny Lohner on January 15, 2010 at 5pm PST.

Milla would like to encourage fans and listeners to make a donation to Sophie’s Voice Foundation before and during the show. Donations may be made online – just click on the donate button above. Prior to the concert, a special text number will be listed here for texting a donation to Sophie’s Voice. Check back again before the concert.

For more information on Milla Jovovich and the concert, visit her website at www.millaj.com.

12.17.09

Boris Kodjoe Cast in new NBC-TV Pilot

Boris Kodjoe been cast as the male lead in J.J. Abrams' pilot for NBC Undercovers.

Undercovers, described as a mix between Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity, revolves around spouses Samantha and Steven (Kodjoe) Bloom, who work together as spies.

Earlier this week, veteran Gerald McRaney became the first actor tapped for the project as the couple's CIA boss. The role of Samantha is yet to be cast.

09.05.09

Nicole Ari Parker Added to ABC Drama

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Nicole Ari Parker has been added to the cast of ABC’s midseason drama series ‘The Deep End.’

She replaces Sherri Saum, who played the role in the pilot.

The show, set at an L.A. law firm, has Parker playing Susan, a smart and sexy attorney whose husband, Clifford (Billy Zane), is the firm’s new managing partner.

Click here to read the full article.

09.05.09

See Boris Kodjoe in the movie Surrogates opening on September 25!

Boris Kodjoe has a new movie coming out this September with Bruce Willis – Surrogates. It’s a sci-fi thriller set in the future. Trailers for the film are now available on the internet. Boris will aslo begin work on a new film in Toronto in the fall! Check back for more details to follow.

08.10.09

Sophie’s Voice goes to Washington to advocate for birth defects

Sophie’s Voice Foundation was invited to Washington, D.C. on August 10 to meet with several offices of the Obama Administration, including Health Reform, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Public Liaison, Secretary of Commerce and the CDC.

SVF’s purpose was to advocate for children and adults with spina bifida and to seek a $200 million annual budget allocation to be given to CDC, beginning with the 2011 budget, for worldwide birth defects initiatives and programs.

Click here to read the SVF proposal and a support document entitled “The Fierce Urgency of Now”.

07.29.09

Sophie's Voice Foundation to establish a clinic for children and adults with spina bifida in Ghana

Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Ari Parker and Jim Okula recently returned from a week-long trip to Ghana in western Africa. While in the capital city of Accra, they met with the Vice President of Ghana, the Minister of Health and the Deputy Minister of Health – and won their support and commitment toward the establishment of a clinic for children and adults born with spina bifida. Currently, the Ghana healthcare system does not provide special healthcare for newborns with spina bifida.

Working together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SVF will help initiate a surveillance project to determine the current population living with spina bifida and the country’s mortality rate of babies born with spina bifida. Once a clinic model is designed to accommodate the Ghana healthcare system, SVF will take a delegation of physicians, nurses and healthcare providers from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and other U.S. institutions to Ghana, where they will be teamed with Ghanaian physicians and nurses to provide training and hands-on patient care.

In addition to the clinic, SVF will establish its first chapter outside the U.S. in Ghana – to be known as Sophie’s Voice Ghana.

See more pictures below in Gallery #2.