PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Zina McGowan-Thomas, Public Information Officer, 301-475-5511, ext. 193

CHOPTICON’S DAWSON SELECTED AS YOUTH AMBASSADOR

MORGANZA, – In the summer of 2006 HERO: A UNA-USA Campaign, along with beinggirl.com and CosmoGIRL! Magazine, launched a new student initiative, the HERO Youth Ambassador Program. This program gave 11 teenagers the chance to go to South Africa and Namibia to work in HERO-sponsored schools and see firsthand the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While working in HERO schools, the Youth Ambassadors helped make a difference in the lives of many children, teachers and community members by building a kitchen for an in-school feeding program, installing security fencing, digging holes for toilets, installing playground equipment, and spending time teaching classes.

Now in its third year, HERO has partnered once again with CosmoGIRL! and beinggirl.com, and selected 24 teens from the United States and Canada to travel to southern Africa as official Youth Ambassadors.  The 2008 group includes Ms. Christina Dawson, a senior at Chopticon High School .

Dawson, a resident of California , MD, currently works with juvenile offenders at St. Mary’s County’s Teen Court , serves as a volunteer with St. Mary’s Hospital, and volunteers with a local English as a Second Language program.  She has lived in Malaysia and Alaska , and has traveled to an orphanage in Peru to provide volunteer service.

While in Africa this summer, Dawson and the other Youth Ambassadors will volunteer their time building homes for school children and their families in Namibia , as well as installing security fencing and playground equipment, painting classrooms and offering hands-on creative and recreational programs in South Africa .

Dawson, who participates in Chopticon’s Model United Nation program, plans to pursue a career in international relations. She is the daughter of Carlton D. and Diana L. Dawson. For more information on the Youth Ambassador Program and Christina Dawson, visit HERO: A UNA-USA Campaign online at www.heroaction.org/site/c.gpIPKZOAJoG/b.3750887/.

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