Nickelodeon Presents "The Halo Awards"
TeenNick Honors Teens Who Are Doing Great Things! Watch “The HALO” Awards on November 6!
TeenNick appreciates teens that are changing the world by doing positive things to help others. They gathered stars like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, David Beckham, Jessica Biel, Nick Cannon, Victoria Justice and Jason DeRulo to celebrate five young adults who have gone above and beyond in the quest to make the world a better place.
The fourth annual “HALO Awards” (Help And Leading Others) taped a special ceremony on October 26 at the Hollywood Palladium that will air on TeenNick, November 6, 2011 at 8:00PM (ET/PT). The 90-minute special features performances by Jason Derulo and Mary J. Blige and is hosted by Nick Cannon (who is also one of the producers of the show). Pre-taped segments of the show include four of the teens being surprised by Cannon in their native states and given grants for the organizations that they founded. They were also given the opportunity to spend time with celebrities with similar goals (Gaga, Swift, Biel and Beckham).
Notables like Serena Williams, Victoria Justice, Ariel Winter, Stephen Moyer, and Heidi Klum stopped by the Palladium to bestow the HALO honor on Adele Taylor, James O’Dwyer, Emily-Anne Rigal, Shanoah Washington and Kyle Weiss. Other charitable celebs such as Slash (Los Angeles Youth Network), Wilmer Valderrama (Voto Latino) and Kris Allen (DonorsChoose.org), as well as Nickelodeon’s live action stars, attended and special guest DJ Connor Cruise entertained the audience during breaks.
Find out more about these honorees and their worthy causes below:
Adele Taylor, 16, Williamstown, NJ (paired with Jason Derulo) - An avid and enthusiastic reader, Adele Taylor, of Williamstown, N.J., grew up understanding the value of literacy. After learning that one in five adults can’t read, she decided to take action. In December 2008, at age 13, this exuberant young lady created the organization Adele’s Literacy Library, with the goal of promoting literacy among people of all ages. Adele is honored by Jason Derulo who supports the Make-A-Wish Foundation among other charitable efforts.
James O’Dwyer, 19, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (paired with Taylor Swift) – James was a freshman at University of Alabama when the devastating EF4 tornado hit Tuscaloosa, leaving a six mile track of destruction across the region. He started Magnolia Disaster Relief, an aid program that targets small rural towns hit the hardest by tornadoes by delivering food, water, clothing, toys, furniture and fridges so affected people can start rebuilding their lives. James’s HALO match is Taylor Swift who, among her many philanthropic endeavors, raises money and awareness to benefit those affected by tornadoes and floods.
Emily-Anne Rigal, 17, Williamsburg, Va. (paired with Lady Gaga) – As a young overweight girl, Emily-Anne was bullied so harshly she was forced to switch schools. Recognizing how upsetting her experience with bullying had been, she decided to create WeStopHate.org, a teen-run YouTube channel and website, which helps combat bullying by motivating teens to share their own stories of triumph and give tips to others on how they too can prevail. Her HALO match, Lady Gaga, is one of Emily-Anne’s greatest role models and campaigns for anti-bullying laws, encouraging teens to be themselves.
Shanoah Washington, 18, St. Petersburg, Fla. (paired with Jessica Biel) – Born in California, Shanoah’s home life was plagued with gang violence until her grandmother moved her to Florida and enrolled her at the local Boys & Girls Club, providing her with guidance to reach her full potential. She created Sista2Sista, a mentoring program which aims to motivate young girls through the development of self-esteem, honesty, self-discipline and positive thinking. Shanoah’s HALO match is Jessica Biel who works with Girl Up, a United Nations Foundation campaign that rallies girls in the U.S. to help give girls in developing countries a better future.
Kyle Weiss, 18, Danville, Calif. (paired with David Beckham) – A huge soccer fan, Kyle’s activism was sparked after speaking to Angolan fans at the 2006 World Cup and learning about the dire state of the country and lack of sports resources available to the youth of Africa. Kyle and his brother started FUNDaFIELD, an organization that fundraises to build soccer fields in developing countries in Africa. Kyle’s HALO match is David Beckham, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, who campaigns and fundraises to establish education and recreational programs involving soccer for children around the world.
Presenting sponsors of the third annual TeenNick HALO Awards are Chevrolet, COVERGIRL, Dove, Reese’s ® Puffs cereal, and Target. During the live taping, each sponsor surprised their respective teen HALO Award honorees with the following:
Chevrolet funded a donation of soccer and other sports equipment for Kyle Weiss’s FUNDaFIELD organization.
To support Emily-Anne Rigal, COVERGIRL provided WeStopHate bracelets for her to sell on her website with all proceeds going to her WeStopHate cause. Audience members also donned WeStopHate bracelets during the live taping.
Dove rewarded Shanoah Washington and the 40+ girls in her organization with a self-esteem workshop to take place in the Sista2Sista headquarters, which is also set to receive a new look and re-design from Dove.
Reese's ® Puffs cereal donated much needed provisions to a local food bank in support of James O'Dwyer’s Magnolia Disaster Relief efforts.
Target donated 25,000 books to three deserving Newark schools in Adele Taylor’s home state of New Jersey in support of Adele’s Literacy Library.
Find out more about these great teens and their organizations at www.TeenNick.com
Don’t forget to tune into the HALO Awards on November 6 at 8:00PM EST and cheer from home for these teens that are making the world a better place! Congratulations to all those being honored.