North Mesquite High School Student Could Take Home a Libby if Deemed the Group's Fiercest Animal Advocate
For
Immediate Release:
December 9,
2011
Contact:
Shakira
Croce 202-483-7382
Mesquite, Texas -- She has already collected thousands of petition signatures to end the slaughter of seals for their fur—so what's next for high school senior and Mesquite resident Celia Renteria? For starters, she's just been named one of four female finalists for a Libby Award for Female Street Teamer of the Year by peta2, PETA's youth division. The sixth annual Libby Awards ("Libby" is for "liberation") honor animal-friendly people and products. Visitors to peta2.com can vote for their favorites in each category, and peta2 will choose the winners.
"Thanks to Celia Renteria, thousands of people throughout Texas have had their eyes opened to the immense suffering experienced by animals killed for their fur," says peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg. "Our impressive finalists prove that the real winners are the animals these students work so hard to protect."
Renteria, a past recipient of peta2's Star Street Teamer Award, collected 1,015 petition signatures against the seal slaughter in less than two months by doing outreach at her school and has also tabled with peta2 at the South by So What?! festival in Texas to speak out against wearing fur.
In addition to the four female finalists, four male finalists have been nominated for Male Street Teamer of the Year. Twenty-nine Libby Awards will be given out this year, recognizing everything from the most vegan-friendly restaurant chain to the best cruelty-free cosmetics company to peta2's favorite animal-friendly celebrity. Voting ends on December 23, and the winners, chosen by peta2, will be announced on January 17. They'll be chosen by peta2 based on equal consideration of three factors: the number of votes received, the quality of the animal-friendly product or the nominees' enthusiasm for being animal-friendly, and feedback from the nominees' fans.
Each winner will receive a framed certificate and be featured on peta2.com.
For more information about all the nominees, please visit peta2.com.