Girl Up Youth Champion Honored in Fifth Annual TeenNick HALO Awards
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) November 18, 2013 -- Rocio Ortega, Girl Up Teen Advisor (2011-2012), was honored last night in the fifth annual TeenNick HALO Awards. The annual awards show celebrated four teens who are “Helping and Leading Others” (HALO) and was broadcast live for the first time ever from the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.
Ortega served as a Girl Up Teen Advisor from 2011-2012, providing critical feedback on Girl Up campaign strategies and ideas, acting as a spokesperson at events and in the media, and organizing fundraisers and service-learning projects in her local community to support Girl Up’s work with the United Nations benefiting girls in developing countries.
"As a Girl Up Teen Advisor I learned how to channel my passion to empower girls,” said Ortega. “I learned to step up and speak up for the education and rights of girls all over the world. I started my own Girl Up Club and raised awareness through events and speeches to my high school – and I am thankful to Girl Up for helping me grow as a leader in my community."
Ortega, currently a Girl Up Youth Champion, continues work with the campaign as a sophomore at Wellesley College, as well as through the chapter at her former high school.
In addition to her involvement with Girl Up, Ortega represents the Latina population in student government, serves as Senator for MEZCLA Club, and is an ambassador for Running Start, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing young women into politics. She was a former U.S. House of Representatives Page and Intern for U.S. Congresswoman Grace Napolitano in 2012. Ortega also worked with GlobalGirl Media, an organization that empowers girls through new media leadership training.
The TeenNick HALO Awards pairs each honoree with a celebrity who has a common commitment to service. Ortega’s HALO match was Chris Paul, a professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA and founder of the CP3 Foundation.
Kaitlin Hung, a Teen Advisor in the current 2013-2014 class, covered the HALO awards from the red carpet as a teen reporter. Learn more about the Teen Advisors on Girl Up’s website.
###
About Girl Up
Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, gives American girls ages 13-18 the opportunity to channel their energy and compassion to raise awareness and funds for programs of the United Nations that help some of the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls. Through Girl Up’s support, girls have the opportunity to become educated, healthy, safe, counted and positioned to be the next generation of leaders. Go to GirlUp.org to learn more.
About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit http://www.unfoundation.org.
Andrea Austin, Girl Up, United Nations Foundation, http://www.girlup.org/, 202-384-9244, [email protected]
Share this article