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These are the Honorees of TLC’s 2018 Give A Little Awards!
Find out who will be honored at this year's awards!
TLC announced today that the second annual Give A Little Awards, honoring advocates who work tirelessly to prevent bullying, will be held on September 20th in New York City. Partnering with TLC in presenting this inspiring event is Redbook Magazine and Love is Louder, a community of people promoting kindness and support co-founded by actress Brittany Snow.
I Am Jazz star Jazz Jennings, TV personality/host Kelly Osbourne, and recording artist Jessie Chris are among those being honored this year, in addition to three national contest winners who are purposefully sowing seeds of kindness and standing up against bullies in their communities: Kristin Caminiti (Kindness Grows Here), Dianne Grossman (Mallory's Army) and Jaylen Arnold (Jaylen's Challenge). Learn more about the empowering stories of these honorees below!
Jazz Jennings
Jazz, the star of the GLAAD Award winning series I Am Jazz, is a 17-year-old transgender teenager, an LGBTQ rights activist and author. Jazz is no stranger to discrimination and she has been breaking barriers for most of her life -- she is one of the youngest publicly-documented people to be identified as transgender, and the youngest person to become a national transgender figure. Her openness and courage have comforted countless other transgender young people, with actress Josie Totah recently citing Jazz and her show as the turning point in her self-discovery. Her honors so far include TIME Magazine's Most Influential Teens (2014 and 2015), the 2013 GLAAD Award, The Advocate magazine's "Top Forty Under 40" annual list, OUT Magazine's Top 100 list and the 2015 Trevor Youth Courage Award to name a few. Alongside her family, Jennings continues to participate in many projects with a goal to educate and spread the message of tolerance and acceptance for all trans kids.
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly first came to prominence while appearing on the reality series, "The Osbournes" with her family, and she has since built a successful career as a television personality, host, fashion designer, singer and actress. Additionally, in April 2017, she published her new book entitled, There Is No F*cking Secret: Letters from a Badass Bitch, in which she details her experience being bullied as an adult in various forms and her fight to rise above the negativity. Kelly has been a longtime supporter and ally to the LGBTQ community, partnering with various organizations like The Trevor Project to shed a light on the discrimination faced by the queer community worldwide. In general, she has always encouraged people to just be themselves, to have pride in who they are and unite together. She was honored with the Trevor Hero Award at Trevor Live in December 2016.
Jessie Chris
Rising star Jessie Chris' advocacy for bullying prevention runs deep. The 2018 Billboard Artist to Watch and Elvis Duran's TODAY Show Artist of The Month was a victim of bullying in school and she has been able to use her music as a platform to bring awareness to the issue and empower those going through similar situations. She set a personal goal to visit at least 100 schools in 2018 to speak with students about the negative implications of bullying. She has visited 51 schools to date and she is scheduled to visit over 75 this fall. In addition to her music, Chris is the face of The Ad Council's #BeMore Campaign as well as Sylvania Lighting's #BeTheLight Campaign. She has also authored a children's book on bullying which is scheduled for release in September 2018. Jessie recently released her latest single and empowerment anthem "Rome," written by Jessie Chris, Summer Overstreet and David Spencer, which she first performed as the featured artist at this year's Gracie Awards in New York City.
Derek Hough
Emmy Award winning and New York Times Best-Selling author Derek Hough, the only six time champion in franchise history of the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars, started dancing in his hometown of Salt Lake City, UT, at age 11. Just one year later, he moved to London to live and train with the top dance coaches in the world and attend the prestigious Italia Conti performing arts school where he studied theatre, music and dance. Although Derek seems to emobdy poise and self-confidence on stage, it wasn't always that way. Derek was horribly bullied growing up, both physically and mentally. He was able to overcome it and has danced his way to success while working to support others who experience similar bullying along the way!
Now, let's meet the incredible Give A Little Contest winners! At this year's awards ceremony, each winner will receive a $5,000 donation to the bullying prevention program of their choice and their stories will be featured in the October 2018 issue of Redbook magazine.
Kristen Caminiti (Kindness Grows Here)
Kristen Caminiti saw a desperate need for positivity and set out to spread kindness along with her husband and three kids. It started out simple: they would hand out small bags of Hershey's Hugs to random bystanders and they would give each of their children $5 at Starbucks to buy coffee for a stranger. They were consistently greeted with tears, gratitude, and smiles. This inspired Kristen to start Kindness Grows Here, a foundation dedicated to fostering kindness in children and spreading kindness in the community, which has evolved into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is well-respected in the community and continues to expand its reach and impact. Additionally, as a social worker, Caminiti has developed a curriculum to combat bullying in schools, benefiting over 1,000 students to date. Through her "Who Do You Want to Be RIGHT NOW" presentations, she defines what bullying is and how to avoid being a bully. She encourages kids to decide what kind of person they want to be and walks them through the types of words, actions, and decisions that are necessary to become that type of person. Moreover, Caminiti partners with elementary, middle, and high schools to create Kindness Campaigns. She tailors her strategies to the unique needs of each school with the goal of spreading kindness and preventing bullying. She also hosts community wide anti-bullying events and kindness themed events such as her recent "Celebration of Differences."
Dianne Grossman (Mallory's Army):
Dianne's daughter, Mallory Rose Grossman, sadly passed away due to suicide last year. She had been struggling with intense bullying during the last year of her life. Dianne and her family eventually founded Mallory's Army Foundation, a 501.C3 Charitable Foundation, in order to cope with and channel their grief. Through the foundation, the Grossmans are able to share their personal story as a way to encourage schools to be the change they want see while empowering children to become humanitarians and the positive CEOs of their hallways. The family hosts workshops and provides parents with the necessary tools to educate themselves about their children as well as the many pressures and dangers they face. Mallory's mantra was "It's a bracelet KIND of life," and her foundation chooses to focus on her life rather than her death. Mallory often made and sold homemade crafts like bracelets and hand scrubs in an effort to raise money for Camp Good Days, a camp for kids with cancer. Mallory believed that something as small as a homemade bracelet could remind people to be kinder to one another, much like tying a string on a finger as a reminder to buy milk or bread. Mallory's family has adopted this mantra as a way to inspire kids and help them embrace a kinder lifestyle. To date, the Grossmans have sold and given away over 60k silicone bands in memory of Mallory.
Jaylen Arnold (Jaylen's Challenge):
Jaylen Arnold is 17 years old and has been sharing his leadership in classrooms across the United States and the UK for the past nine years. After being bullied for having Tourette Syndrome and Autism, Arnold decided to take a bold stand when he was 8 years old. With the help of a few adults, he created the concept for Jaylen's Challenge Foundation, Inc., and developed a plan to educate students and the public about the prevalence of bullying in schools and workplaces. With his Motto "Bullying No Way!" he set out to change the world one person at a time through awareness and education. Arnold has spoken to more than 220,000 students in face-to-face assemblies, while providing a much-needed anti-bullying curriculum. He had his own show on Nickelodeon called "The HALO Effect," and he has also been featured on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show"; on covers of HIGHLIGHTS Children's Magazine; in People Magazine alongside actress Anne Hathaway; and in a Discovery Health documentary called "Tourette's Uncovered." This influential teenager has received the Young Hero Award for Philanthropy, The American Spirit Award from Katie Couric, Community Hero Award from the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning, and the highly esteemed World of Children Award. Arnold is also the only American to receive the prestigious Princess Diana Legacy Award by HRH's Prince William and Harry. During the 2018 NBA playoffs, Arnold partnered with prominent athlete LeBron James for a bullying awareness campaign through Instagram.
