San Diego Teen in the Running for peta2 Award

Teen Promotes Kindness to Animals Through Online Petitions, peta2 Advisory Board

For Immediate Release:
December 2, 2014

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Whether he’s leading online petitions to urge his school board to stop sponsoring trips to SeaWorld or putting his creative voice to work on an animal-friendly novel, San Diego teen Zach Affolter can be counted on to put animals first. And now Zach—along with scores of businesses, musicians, athletes, and others—is up for a Libby Award from peta2, PETA’s youth division. Now in its ninth year, the Libby Awards (“Libby” is for “liberation,” as in animal liberation) includes a record 26 categories, and Zach may take home the award for Street Teamer of the Year. Visitors to peta2.com can cast their votes to help peta2 decide whom it should choose as the Libby Award winners and enter for a chance to win a giant Libby prize pack filled with goodies from last year’s winners, including a cookbook, personal-care products, and vegan treats.

When Zach isn’t offering up ideas to help make peta2 bigger and better as part of its Youth Advisory Board, he can be seen leafleting and protesting against SeaWorld. He also makes YouTube videos to speak up for animals, and they’ve garnered more than 114,000 views. Zach is also currently 17,000 words into a novel featuring Lolita, the lone orca held captive at the Miami Seaquarium.

“Zach is taking the fight straight to SeaWorld on many different fronts with creativity and passion,” says PETA Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “All of peta2’s nominees are winners because they’re inspiring young people across the country to get active for animals every chance they get.”

Other Libby Award categories include Best Use of Internet Stardom for Animals, Best Vegan Makeover, and Best New Vegan Food Item. Voting ends on December 12 at 12 p.m. EST. Winners will be chosen by peta2—whose motto reads, “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—based on several factors, including vote count, and will be announced on December 16. See the full contest details here.

For more information and to cast your vote to help peta2 decide whom it should choose as Libby Award winners, please visit peta2.com or click here.