Actress Jenna Ortega fronts 2020 'Teens for Jeans' initiative

Actor Jenna Ortega is encouraging young people to donate jeans to homeless shelters as part of a new ‘Teens for Jeans' campaign.

The "Jane the Virgin" star has teamed up with the social change platform DoSomething.org and the fashion retailer Aéropostale to inspire teens to donate jeans to their peers in homeless shelters across the US. Since 2008, the annual campaign has seen youngsters provide local shelters with more than 5 million pairs of jeans.

"Youth homelessness isn't something you can always see," said Ortega, who is filmed visiting the shelter SafeHouse of the Desert near her hometown of Indio, California, for the campaign.

"We might not realize it, but for so many of us, our friends and classmates may leave school and go to a shelter, not a home. Talking to people who are my age, near my hometown, who have overcome homelessness was powerful and inspiring. I'm immensely proud to be a part of 'Teens for Jeans' and help students make a difference for young people in their communities."

Influencers including Noor Aldayeh, Adam Irigoyen, Sky Katz, Sina Jarrahi and Olivia Sanabia are also throwing their weight behind the campaign, which is offering people who take part by February 29 the chance to win a $2,500 scholarship from DoSomething. The school that collects the most jeans will also receive a $10,000 grant from Aéropostale.

"In our conversations with leaders at homeless shelters, we've learned that jeans are one of the most requested items from young people experiencing homelessness," explained Carrie Bloxson, Chief Marketing Officer of DoSomething.org.

"Students around the country are extremely excited to activate their schools and communities to run denim drives for local young people in need, and that energy is going to drive enormous and lasting impact. 'Teens for Jeans' is the country's largest youth-led denim drive."