For Immediate Release:              
Caboodles Names Winner of “In My Case” Contest
Chloe Villegas Presented with Check For College Fund

CHICAGO (December 14, 2009)— On December 10, Chloe Villegas, a senior at Chicago’s North-Grand High School walked away from Step Up’s Annual Winter Carnival Celebration for Teens as the winner of the Caboodles “In My Case” Contest. Villegas created the winning Caboodle-ism out of over 20 submissions. Her winning quote: "In my case…dreams come in 100 different shades", awarded her a $500 “Caboodles Goes to College” check to be donated to her college fund, along with a brand new In My Case Caboodle.  Villegas recently became the first senior in her graduating class to get accepted into college. Her dream is to study fashion and design a line for plus-size teens.

Caboodles enlisted the help of Step Up teens to create some meaningful Caboodle-isms – statements created by the brand to help illustrate the importance of positivity and individuality – and thought that a contest would be the best way to hear what teens are saying, in their own words. Each teen was asked to create a Caboodle-ism and submit it prior to the Step Up Winter Carnival. On the night of the event, they were videotaped reciting their Caboodle-ism and the video was posted on the Caboodles website, Facebook page and YouTube. Step Up’s Spoken Word instructor, Itohan Osaigbovo, and Program Director, Rachel Clayton, reviewed the entries and narrowed it down to their top three before selecting a winner.

According to Clayton, "We were thrilled to work with Caboodles and bring the opportunity to participate in the ‘In My Case’ competition to our girls. With their new campaign, Caboodles supports Step Up's mission to empower and build confidence in young women and the girls' Caboodle-isms were so inspiring. We look forward to next year's competition!"

Other Caboodle-isms created to emulate the brand included: “In my case…beauty’s a minute away” (Elisa Fabian, 17), “In my case…space fills up with a world of gorgeous colors that await me” (Crystal Guerrero, 17) and “In my case, options make me blush” (Jasmine Johnson, 18).
 
“Inspiring young girls to be proud of who they are has always been important to us,” says Kathy Hurt, Director of Marketing and Product Development for Caboodles. “We like to think of ourselves as their fun, quirky friend who has been with them from their first lip gloss to their first college application.” 

About Caboodles:
Since 1987 the Caboodles company has been introducing females of all ages into their Caboodles world, filled with neat freaks, make-up mavens, treasure collectors, dream catchers and everything in between. Today, the brand continues to create unbreakable bonds with women and girls everywhere by emulating function, fashion, quality and affordability. In addition to the In My Case Caboodle, they have a unique line of products to suit a variety of personalities and ages. Caboodles can be found at many mass and specialty store locations around the country. For more information visit www.caboodles.com.

About Step Up Women’s Network:
Step Up Women’s Network is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to connecting and advancing women and girls. It’s the go-to organization for women looking to support underserved girls, while developing their own professional and social networks. Step Up members benefit from ongoing opportunities for social networking, professional mentorship and development, hands-on volunteer work, and health support and education. The national network is 50,000 women strong and has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. www.suwn.org

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