Bristol Palin got $262,500 from sex abstinence work
by Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Bristol Palin was paid more than $260,500 advocating against teen pregnancy in 2009, tax documents released on Tuesday show.
Palin, the 20-year-old daughter of former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, earned $262,500 for her work advocating that teens abstain from sex, according to information posted on the Internet by GuideStar, which monitors the finances of nonprofit groups.
The Candie's Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to raise awareness of teen pregnancy and parenting issues, reported Bristol Palin's earnings to the Internal Revenue Service.
"We know that Ms. Palin's work has had a positive effect on creating awareness about teen pregnancy," Ali Tyrangel, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said in a statement.
Tyrangel said an independent survey of 1,000 teens comparing Bristol Palin public-service announcements with those of another organization using non-famous teens found that the Palin spots were much more powerful and attention-getting.
"Bristol Palin has been a courageous and powerful partner to the Foundation as we attempt to discourage teen pregnancy," she said.
Representatives for Candie's and Bristol Palin could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bristol Palin, then 18, was pregnant during the 2008 presidential campaign and her son was born in the month after the election. She and the boy's father, Levi Johnston, had a much-publicized breakup.
Both young parents have embarked on separate celebrity careers.
Bristol Palin was a contestant on ABC's television program "Dancing With the Stars" and went on the lecture circuit;
Johnston has been promoting a proposed reality television show and posed, shortly after the 2008 election, for Playgirl magazine.
Bristol Palin is still featured prominently on the Candie's Foundation web site, along with several other celebrity spokespeople such as actresses Hilary Duff, Hayden Panettiere and Vanessa Milano.
