Anthony E. Meyer and Family Fund First Ever World of Children Education Award
Award Presented to Miriam Mason-Sesay at Annual Awards Ceremony in New York City Nov 5
NEW YORK – Nov 6, 2015 – Anthony Meyer, his wife Miraldina, and their daughter Olivia presented the first ever World of Children Education Award to Miriam Mason-Sesay of EducAid Sierra Leone on Thursday evening at the organization’s annual Awards Ceremony in Manhattan. Mason-Sesay was honored this year for her work as the founder of EducAid Sierra Leone, an organization that provides essential educational services to at-risk children in the African nation of Sierra Leone. Meyer, a former Vice Chairman of World of Children, together with his family provided the seed funding to create this new award category for the organization.
Earlier this year, Meyer committed a significant, multi-year gift to Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York to support their Opportunities Fund. The gift is in part to “cover costs for [US] students who study abroad or seek other similar academic fellowships that aim to broaden an undergraduate education.” His commitment to World of Children expands his philanthropy to the international arena while maintaining his key focus on education as a means to create better futures for youth. Meyer, along with the Founders and Board of World of Children, see the Education Award as a natural extension of the organization’s desire to create significant, sustainable change in the lives of children. “Globally, 60 million children do not receive even basic education,” said Harry Leibowitz, Co-Founder of Co-Founder of World of Children® Award. “In view of the magnitude of the issue, we felt it was vital for our organization to establish an education award category.”
Meyer agrees, saying, “Education is essential for young people looking to create the best possible life for themselves. For many children worldwide, including those here in this country, education offers the best path forward – out of poverty, out of trouble, out of dependency, and on to a better life. I strongly believe other philanthropic leaders need to step forward to help create that path.”
Asked what the award means to her and her work, Mason-Sesay shared, “It’s fantastic. Of course, it comes with financial support but it’s also the acknowledgement to my whole team and the youngsters that we work with that our work is something important – that people across the world have seen what they’re doing here as something important. In a sense, education is about tomorrow. You don’t get the benefits today. And there’s not an awful lot of concern for tomorrow in a lot of Africa right now. So for them to see this being acknowledged and rewarded is a big thing. It’s helping them choose tomorrow.”
Mason-Sesay and Educaid Sierra Leone will use the funding from the World of Children Education Award – $75,000 disbursed over a three year period – to further their work with Sierra Leonean youth in EducAid schools.
###
ABOUT WORLD OF CHILDREN AWARD
World of Children® Award improves the lives of vulnerable children by funding and elevating the most effective changemakers for children worldwide.
Since 1998, World of Children has granted more than $7 million in cash grants and program support to more than 100 humanitarian leaders who are the driving force behind programs serving children worldwide. The organization’s exhaustive research and vetting of individuals has been hailed by leading philanthropic organizations. T
World of Children has been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, People, Town & Country, and Harper’s Bazaar. World of Children Honorees have also been featured by The New York Times, CNN, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Fast Company Magazine, People, Glamour, TEEN Vogue, TIME for Kids, USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor, among several other national and international media.