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CHICAGO, IL - Sean Penn is the U.G.L.Y. celebrity of 2012 in the eighth annual celebrity of the year program that asks teens and tweens to identify and nominate celebrities who exhibited exemplary role model behavior during the year. Penn's work in helping those devastated in the earthquake that hit Haiti and his giving up "plush" life to live in a tent and physically, financially, mentally and spiritually work, every day, to help the people rebuild is why youth nominated Penn. Observing the empathy Penn has for the people of Haiti influenced millions of people, including our youth to contribute to Penn's Haiti Humanitarian Nonprofit, J/P Haitian Relief Organization which has raised over $5 billion dollars to-date. Empathy is key to the mission of Hey U.G.L.Y. - Unique Gifted Lovable You (HU), the international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth with self-esteem and empathy-building programs to enable them to be part of the solution to societal ills like bullying. One of the areas that contribute to low self-esteem is our celebrity obsessed society which is why HU created the U.G.L.Y. Celebrity of the Year Award. It helps teens understand and embrace that it's what you do instead of what you look like that matters the most. Celebrities are nominated as part of Hey U.G.L.Y.'s media literacy program. In the program teachers hold open discussions with their students about how we are all bombarded with news and gossip about celebrities. They delve into what characteristics make a good role model then create a list of three celebrities they think were good role models in 2012. After each group explains their selections to their classmates, teachers send the nominee selections to Hey U.G.L.Y. who tallies the results. To donate to Penn's nonprofit go to jphro.org. |
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