News

It's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you.
By Alana Greenfogel for WNDU-NBC-TV

Dan Evans says the hardest part about being on the TV show "The Biggest Loser" was taking off his shirt in front of America. Evans told a crowd in Michigan City Sunday afternoon, the most rewarding part of being on the show, was gaining his life back.

"I developed habits of overeating and fast food and it was something that got out of control but I had no clue how to fix it," Dan explains. "I finally realized, I said, you know what, I can do this. I can change my life and I can be in control of who I am."

Dan and his mother, Jackie Evans, took a red eye flight from California to Michigan City to take part in a 5K walk raising awareness about childhood obesity. Dan and Jackie lost a total of 216 while on the TV show and came to inspire other kids and families to eat healthy, exercise and feel confident about who they are.

"It's an inspiration because I know that could be Matthew," Julia Pawlicke says about her 7th grade son, Matthew. "I know that he's got it in him to have the higher self-esteem than what he has. So it's going to be a good thing for us."

Matthew is a very sweet, shy boy who loves fishing and playing video games. He actually started a stop-bullying program at his school and encourages all kids to listen to his message

"Stop bullying,"  Matthew advises. "Just stop bullying. You don't want it to be done to you. Don't do it to someone else."

"You have to know that you love him and that God loves him and he has family and friends that love him," Matthew's mom, Julia, shares. "Everyone takes it to heart when someone says something negative about them. But sometimes you have to keep pushing and keep going forward."

The walk was hosted by a local organization called "Hey UGLY." This kind of "ugly" doesn't correlate with the traditional definition of the word. So what does it stand for?

"Unique. Gifted. Lovable. You," answers Betty Hoeffner, who started the group. "We're all about giving the kids the tools to let them be part of the solution. Let them come up with the answers. Let them understand why people bully and how to protect themselves from bullying. And they come up with the answers and then we share them with kids all over the world."

When kids are teased, it's hard for them to brush off the harsh remarks and walk away tall and proud. When children are overweight, they often become the targets for bullying. "Hey UGLY" supports the kids when their "self can't find their esteem."

"By walking tall, even though it might have been superficial, they didn't know what was going on inside me. But I wouldn't let them know. So I walked tall and I wouldn't let them know, that you're not going to make me small," explains Patti Rio-Jordan, who says she's been overweight since she was a young child. "Get that confidence inside of you. When you walk, walk with a little stride in your step."

Rio-Jordan weighed 610 pounds at her heaviest. To put that in perspective, that's about the weight of an average golf cart. Rio-Jordan has since lost almost 400 pounds - the average weight of about two and a half women combined--and says she can finally live again.

"It's not about what you're eating. It's about what's eating you."

LaPorte High School holds "stop bullying" rally
Mar 03, 2010 3:43 PM CST
By Ed Greenberger  

If your child has been the victim of bullying, you know how serious a problem it can be.
     The Indiana group Hey UGLY held a "stop bullying" rally at LaPorte High School Wednesday. UGLY stands for Unique, Gifted, Lovable You.
     Nearly 2,000 students and faculty members signed what was billed as the world's largest "stop bullying" banner. Those signatures represent a promise to erase bullying from school.
     "We all took the pledge to stand up against bullying," said teacher Ingrid Johanson-Voelker. "We're going to stop bullying ourselves, we're going to stop bullying others and we're going to step in and assist other people when we see them being bullied."
     According to the CDC, bullying makes more than 850,000 U.S. teenagers stay home from school at least once a month.


Students sign banner against bullying
LaPorte, IN

Mar 3, 2010

Student task force at LaPorte High School organizes assembly against bullying.
Reporter: Stephanie Stang

     An entire high school takes a stand against bullying.
     More than two thousand students at LaPorte High School are getting involved in an anti-bullying campaign.
     Wednesday the school held an assembly to address the problem with the help of the student task force.
     A couple of students from the task force sang a rap song illustrating the need to end bullying.
     "Rap is to express your own feelings and beliefs. Basically I think that's what we did today. It's not cool to bully," says LaPorte High School senior and singer Trevor Sales.
     Plus all of the students were encouraged to sign a banner to stop bullying that will travel to other high schools around the country.
     Some of the states the banner will head to include Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.


Laughing in the face of the economy Lead story by reporter, Nadia Crow


The unstable economy is no laughing matter, but a group of Michaina students are using some unusual techniques to help people get through these difficult times. more...

LOL
LP students help others laugh it up
By Timothy O'Connor Herald Argus Staff writer

Brandi Morrow once laughed for 10 minutes straight. The 15-year-old was up late the night before with a friend and they entered that odd, worn-out delirium that often leads to laughter. more...

Stop Bullying program launched by 6th Graders In March of 2009 the students became members of the Hey U G LY Stop Bullying Task Force. Together they delved into bullying. What is it? How can we stop it? How can we help others? Following are some of their discoveries: more...

Tom Dreesen names Hey U G L Y's Laugh It Off CD the CURE FOR ROAD RAGE - "When I get stuck in traffic I play a CD of contagious laughter called 'Laugh It Off','" said Dreesen, who is chronicling his life story in a Broadway-bound play called, ‘Shining Shoes and Sinatra." Dreesen, who opened for Frank Sinatra for 13 years says, "I have 'Laugh It Off' on my CD changer and I found it to be the cure for road rage. It also helps our youth as the CD is a fundraising product for Hey U G L Y, the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping teens with self-esteem-building tools, to help them counter challenges such as eating disorders, bullying, violence, substance abuse and suicide."
 more...

Oprah Show Inspires NewT-Shirt - Oprah Winfrey told Naomi Judd that her life changed for the better once she came to the realization that she deserved. That Oprah show inspired the teen self-esteem building nonprofit organization, Hey U G L Y, to create a survey to get people in touch with their inner deservedness. The top responses were put on a T-shirt to remind everyone that we all really do DESERVE. more...

National survey finds teens are NOT Stepford Wives - As the Stepford Wives movie graced theatres across America, HeyUGLY.org and CollegeBounds CB Teen magazine were busy surveying teens to see if they were Stepford Teens. The survey sought to find out if young women felt the need to dumb themselves down to be more attractive to men.    more...

Backsides becoming billboards in fashion - Could it be that the new fashion statement will be statements and logos emblazoned across the derriere instead of across the chest? If what were seeing on people like Gwyneth Paltrow, Anouck and film director Rick Erwin, fashion could be taking a turn for the verse.   more...

Teens choose positive lyrics for "Song of the Month" - Since Song of the Month was launched, teens have submitted songs that range from Soar by Christina Aguilera to Can't Take That Away by Mariah Carey, said Betty Hoeffner, president and co-founder of Hey U G L Y. We understand the power of music, and experienced how it helped in ending a war in the seventies. Our hope is that teens will start listening for, and searching out, positive lyrics, and embracing the messages they convey.   more...

Contest asks kids to turn LOSER, STUPID or DORK into positive acronym - In an attempt to get tweens and teens in the practice of turning negatives into positives, Hey U G L Y, Inc. has launched a national contest asking kids, 12 19, to create a positive acronym for Stupid, Loser or Dork. Taking a cue from inspirational speaker Sporty King, who transformed the word ugly to mean Unique Gifted Lovable You, the folks at Hey UGLY will award big prizes for the best entries.   more...

Teacher gives tips to avoid test stress - HeyUGLY.org wanted to help students ease their stress when it came to taking tests so they called upon teachers to help them put together tips. How totally cool that these tips come from a professor that has actually given final exams. He is also the man who developed the Dynamics of Leadership curriculum for Oprah Winfrey when she taught at Northwestern University.   more...

Cameron Diaz Voted U G L Y Celebrity of 2005 Cameron Diaz is the U.G.L.Y. celebrity of 2005. This most prestigious honor was bestowed upon her by the board of Hey U G L Y, Inc. the teen self-esteem building 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.   more...

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2010
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2009
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2007
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2006
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2005
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2004
Jun 26 - Round Rock Leader
Jul 30 - Dispatch Tribune Newspapers
August - Free Bird Times
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Sep 17 - Meditation at Work
Sep 27 - Teenagers Today
Sep 30 - Orlando Sentinel
Oct 7 - Sun Chronicle
Nov 19 - Onlypunjab.com
Dec 1 - Oak Leaves
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Dec 3 - Vocabulary

2003
Spring - College Bound Magazine
Jul 27 - Chicago Tribune
Autumn - Kingdom News

2002
Apr 9 - ABC-TV News-Chicago
Sep 17 - Chicago Tribune
Nov 27 - News-Press
Nov 28 - Times Observer
Nov 28 - Highlands Ranch Herald
Nov 28 - Littleton Independent
Nov 28 - Parker Chronicle
Nov 28 - Centennial Citizen
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Dec 11 - Daily Herald
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Dec 18 - Boonevile Democrat
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