The Universal Backlot was transformed into a star-studded party on Saturday to celebrate Variety’s Power of Youth 2013 presented by Hasbro, Inc.
The star-studded event, produced in conjunction with Variety’s annual Youth Impact Report, featured an exclusive afternoon of festivities, live performances and an awards presentation. The evening celebrated a select group of outstanding young entertainers, chosen to receive the Variety Power of Youth generationOn Award, who, through their efforts, have made significant contributions to their chosen philanthropic and charitable causes. The guest list was comprised of 500 invite-only guests, made up of the “who’s who” of under-25 actors, actresses and recording artists, industry executives and their families and the children and families directly affected by the honorees’ benefitting charities.
This year’s honorees included Jake T. Austin (Ronald McDonald House), Abigail Breslin (Project Sunshine), Nina Dobrev (Free the Children), Tyler Posey (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and Quvenzhané Wallis (Teaching Gardens). Each took the stage to accept their award and celebrate the special organizations that have touched their hearts. It was also super sweet to see some of the people closest to them present them with their honors. “The Vampire Diaries” executive producer Julie Plec presented to Nina while “Teen Wolf” executive producer Jeff Davis presented to Tyler. Jake was reunited with his “Wizards of Waverly Place” mom Maria Canals-Barrera and Abigail’s co-star Dermot Mulroney took the stage to rave about the young actress. We also thought it was super sweet that Bailee Madison took the stage to present to Quvenzhane.
The goal of Variety’s Power of Youth initiative is to encourage the next generation of entertainers to support the philanthropic and humanitarian causes closest to their hearts – and to use their positions in popular culture to encourage their peers and millions of fans who look up to them to do the same. Celebrity supporters of the cause have included: Justin Bieber, Miranda Cosgrove, Darren Criss, Miley Cyrus, Hillary Duff, Dakota Fanning, Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Vanessa Hudgens, Sarah Hyland, The Jonas Brothers, Angus T. Jones, Victoria Justice, Lil Romeo, Jesse McCartney, AnnaLynne McCord, Hayden Panettiere, Keke Palmer, Jordin Sparks, Hailee Steinfeld, Shailene Woodley and many more.
The presenting sponsors of Variety’s Power of Youth 2013 were Hasbro, Inc., generationOn and Flips Audio. Other official sponsors included jcpenney and Coca-Cola.
In addition to the five honorees, many of the young stars chosen for Variety’s Youth Impact report like Laura & Vanessa Marano attended as well as Rico & Raini Rodriguez, Olivia Holt, Garrett Clayton, Blake Michael, Roshon Fegan, Kat McNamara, Joel Courtney, Kaitlyn Dever and many many more.
Guests had the chance to play life-size versions of Connect Four and Jenga Tetris, plus play with Play-Doh, test out Angry Birds Star Wars II and Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix and even snack on delicious food.
It was a wonderful day filled with fun, inspiration, and more. Check out some of our interviews and photos below.
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