NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 04: Nick Cannon and Raegan Junge speak on stage at the 2017 Nickelodeon HALO Awards at Pier 36 on November 4, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)
KEYSTONE, Iowa: An Benton County girl is going to be on national TV this Sunday for her efforts with tornado and natural disaster relief.
Twelve-year-old Raegan Junge from Keystone was six-years-old when she saw the destruction from a tornado in Missouri on the news. Eager to help, she sold homemade bracelets at a local store, raising $1,600 for a couple who was affected by the tragedy. This experience gave life to Raegan’s Relief Efforts, Junge’s organization that fundraises through bracelet, lip balm and garage sales, and donates and delivers products to people across the country who have been affected by natural disasters. To date, Raegan’s Relief Efforts has raised over $23,000 in 25 different states.
Earlier this month she met with celebrities like Nick Cannon and Kelsea Ballerini while filming for Nickelodeon Halo Awards 2017 at New York's Pier 36. The televised event honors four kids from across the country every year who are changing their communities by helping and leading others (HALO).
Junge says her favorite part of this award show was the new experiences.
"Getting on a boat, I've never been on a boat, I've never been that close to a helicopter and little things like New York pizza I had never had it before and it was really good," Junge told KCRG-TV9.
Reagan also enjoyed meeting the other three honorees she even keeps in touch with one of them. She says she hopes the awards inspire other kids to get involved.
"Like I always say a little bit comes a lot and all four of us combined can be a lot and I am just hoping that other kids watch the HALO awards and are inspired by what we do," Junge said.
Prior to the event, Raegan told KWWL that she was "beyond excited" to attend the live taping of Nickelodeon HALO Awards 2017.
Last year, Junge traveled to Chicago for an appearance on the Steve Harvey Show and to New York City to help ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. She was being honored as part of U.S. Cellular’s “The Future of Good.”
Nickelodeon awarded Junge $20,000 to go toward her organization and then a surprise $10,000 to go toward her education.
Junge will celebrate her HALO award by hosting a watch party in Keystone at Turner Hall.
Watch KCRG-TV9's video report here on kcrg.com.
Watch Raegan receive her honor at the must-see concert event of the season, the 2017 HALO Awards, hosted by Nick Cannon and featuring special appearances by top music artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini, Hey Violet, Why Don’t We, Ayo & Teo and Jacob Sartorius, and Nick stars JoJo Siwa (Lip Sync Battle Shorties), Lizzy Greene (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, Tiny Christmas), Ricardo Hurtado (School of Rock), and Daniella Perkins and Owen Joyner (Knight Squad)! Nickelodeon HALO Awards 2017 premieres Sunday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) across Nickelodeon USA, TeenNick and Nicktoons! For more information about the 2017 Nickelodeon HALO Awards and Raegan's Relief Efforts, visit nick.com/halo-awards and raegansreliefefforts.com. Congratulations on your award, Raegan!!
Also, from The Gazette:
Nickelodeon rewards Iowa girl's relief efforts
Raegan Junge, of Keystone, honored with network's HALO Award
Whenever Raegan Junge of rural Keystone hears about a natural disaster via the news or Facebook, she springs into action.
“I will pack up a box with personal items — little items like toothbrush, toothpaste, stuff like that — then I will get the address and send off a box to them,” she said.
Now 12, she has been doing that for half her life. She also makes and sells beaded bracelets and lip balm and holds garage sales to raise funds for her grass roots nonprofit organization, Raegan’s Relief Efforts.
So far, she’s raised more than $23,000.
That total nearly doubled overnight, when Raegan received a check for $20,000 as one of four youths nationwide receiving 2017 Nickelodeon Helping and Leading Others — or HALO — Awards. She traveled to New York City Nov. 1-5 with her parents, Jerry and Crystal Junge, and an aunt, Becky Junge, all of Keystone.
Her itinerary included taping the awards presentation that will air at 6 p.m. Sunday on cable TV channels Nickelodeon, TeenNick and Nicktoons. Raegan’s family and friends will gather at Keystone’s Turner Hall for a viewing party that night. The show also will be streamed on Haloawards.com and will be available Monday at Nickelodeon on Demand.
Raegan knew about the prize money beforehand, which will help expand her home-based operation, but she didn’t know that she also would receive a $10,000 scholarship.
“I was so excited,” she said of the surprise. “It was so amazing, having that feeling and knowing that I have a start on college.”
A seventh-grader at Benton Community Schools in Van Horne, she’s not sure what she might study later on, but knows philanthropic efforts will be her life’s work.
She would like to go into natural disaster zones so she can see the needs firsthand, and turn her organization “into something like the Red Cross,” she said.
For now, she’s a typical preteen who was excited for her first trip to New York, her first boat ride, and the chance to meet stars like host Nick Cannon, country pop singer/songwriter Kelsea Ballerini and Nickelodeon stars performing in the hourlong concert special. She didn’t get to meet HALO Hall of Fame honoree Kelly Clarkson, but said Ballerini is “super sweet.”
Beyond all the star-power, Reagan was thrilled to meet the other three youth HALO winners:
l Andrew Dunn, 14, of Louisville. He founded RAK Louisville (Random Acts of Kindness Louisville), in an effort to flood Louisville with kindness through community events, service projects and kindness challenges.
l Zoe Terry, 11, of Miami. Bullied for the color of her skin and hair texture at a young age, she founded Zoe’s Dolls, an organization that focuses on girl empowerment and combats bullying through programs and events that incorporate fitness, self-expression and community spirit.
l Caleb White, 15, of Detroit. After observing a homeless man sleeping on the streets of Detroit, Caleb started a communitywide effort to combat homelessness and help build youth leaders through volunteerism.
“They were all amazing,” she said. “They were all so inspiring, and they’re all gonna change the world, also.”
In this season of giving, Raegan is focusing on her favorite annual project, filling Christmas goody bags for veterans, to be distributed through the Veterans Outreach Center in Cedar Rapids on Dec. 15, along with serving “a traditional Christmas feast.”
“It’s my favorite because I actually get to meet them,” she said of the veterans project. “They’re like family, because we know each other so well and get to see each other. It’s a better feeling when you get to meet them in person.” To learn more about Raegan’s efforts, go to www.facebook.com/raegansreliefeffort
Tune In
— What: Nickelodeon HALO Awards 2017
— Featuring: Raegan Junge of Keystone
— When: 6 p.m. Sunday
— Where: Nickelodeon, TeenNick and Nicktoons cable television stations; available Monday at Nickelodeon On Demand
— Information: nick.com/halo-awards/
--Ends--
More Nick: Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini, Hey Violet, Why Don’t We, Ayo & Teo, Jacob Sartorius And More Join Host Nick Cannon For Nickelodeon HALO Awards 2017, Concert Event Celebrating Young Community Leaders, 11/26 On Nick USA!!
Original source: South Florida News.
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