MISS TEEN USA DOES SOME SERIOUS GIRL TALK
ATLANTA, GA and NEW YORK, NY – MAY 12, 2008 – The Miss Universe Organization announced today its new partnership with Girl Talk Inc., a nonprofit student-to-student mentoring program that inspires young teen girls to build self-esteem, develop leadership skills and recognize the value of community service.
“We are delighted to make Girl Talk one of the official Miss Teen USA charitable alliances,” said Paula M. Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization. “Communication is so important and Girl Talk is a wonderful outlet for these young ladies to talk to one another about the issues facing teens today.”
With the partnership, Miss Teen USA and state titleholders will visit existing Girl Talk Chapters, as well as help start Chapters in their own community schools.
Founded in 2002 by Haley Kilpatrick, Girl Talk is a national nonprofit student-to-student mentoring program that offers fun, positive weekly meetings, community service projects and friendship building activities for middle school girls. High school girls lead and mentor the middle school girls through weekly programs. The organization has grown from 1 chapter in 2002, to more than 400 chapters and more than 30,000 members in the United States today. Girl Talk anticipates having chapters in all 50 states by 2010.
“Miss Teen USA and each state titleholder are great role models for our Girl Talk girls and leaders,” said Ms. Kilpatrick. “It is truly a perfect fit because our organizations share values of community service and leadership. Their excitement for our program will help us increase the number of chapters, reach more girls and raise important funds for Girl Talk’s growth.”
The Miss Universe Organization, producers of the MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA® and MISS TEEN USA® pageants, is a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal joint venture. Utilizing its nationwide grass roots infrastructure, the Miss Universe Organization is committed to increasing awareness of nonprofits including Girl Talk, Best Buddies, National Breast Cancer Coalition, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and Gilda’s Club.
MEDIA CONTACTS
The Miss Universe Organization
Lark-Marie Antón, (212) 373-4982, lanton@missuniverse.com
Esther Swan, (212) 373-4870, eswan@missuniverse.com
Joyce Lee, (212) 373-4983, jlee@missuniverse.com
Girl Talk
Jennifer Grizzle, (770) 409-1152, jennifer@theprstudio.com