For Immediate Release
November 12, 2012
For More Information Contact:
Patti Hassler
Vice President of Communications and Outreach
202-662-3554 office
phassler@childrensdefense.org
Children’s Defense Fund to Honor Beat the Odds® Students
60 Minutes Correspondent Byron Pitts to Host
What: On Thursday, November 15, the Children’s Defense Fund will honor five youths at the 2012 Beat the Odds Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts will host the event and share his own Beat the Odds story. The five high school seniors who have overcome tremendous adversity to excel academically and give back to their communities will share their extraordinary stories and receive a $10,000 scholarship, a laptop computer, counseling through the admissions process, and an invitation to join the Children’s Defense Fund’s Youth Leadership Training programs. The 2012 winners are: Ana Gloribel Pereira from Burke, Va.; Kieu-thu Kim Tran from Sterling, Va.; Margaret Hobbins from Edgewater, Md.; Eva Maria Turcios from Alexandria, Va.; and Jennifer Jimenez from Washington, D.C.
Who: Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children’s Defense Fund Byron Pitts, chief national correspondent, CBS News; contributing correspondent, 60 Minutes The Reverend Dean Snyder, senior pastor at Foundry United Methodist Church Elaine Jones, president and director-counsel emeritus, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Joshua Johnson, Penn State student and tap dance sensation on ABC Dancing with the Stars Kyle Corfman, former Beat the Odds winner Ron Suskind, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Cedric Jennings, director of DC Youth Advisory Council’s Youth Programs
When: Thursday, November 15, 2012 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. – Dinner Reception, Ceremony, Dessert Reception 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. – Beat the Odds Awards Ceremony
Where: Carnegie Institution for Science 1530 P Street NW (P Street Entrance) Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 387-6400
Press Welcome: Please register with phassler@childrensdefense.org