World of Children® Award Campaign Helps Disabled Children Walk for the First Time
Effort raises funds and awareness for children with limb disabilities, empowering them with the ability to walk, run, and thrive.
Every day, an estimated 93 million children are denied the opportunity to attend school, get a job, or lead a self-sufficient life because of their disability. Beginning this month, supporters of World of Children’s ability campaign can help a disabled child walk for the first time, empowering them with the ability to thrive. Visit worldofchildren.org/ability to learn more.
Donations to the campaign help children like Alex and Maverick, two young boys from Ecuador who were born without one of their limbs. They could not stand; they could not walk; and like so many disabled children in developing countries, they could not look forward to a life of independence and opportunity.
Alex and Maverick were fitted with prosthetic limbs, thanks to 2013 World of Children Honoree Mead Welles and his program, A Leg To Stand On (ALTSO). Together, Alex and Maverick took their first steps. Then they began to walk. Now, they are not just walking, but running. They just finished running the 2nd Annual Jenn Lee 5k Race in Ecuador, a race that raises money and awareness for other people with disabilities.
Alex and Maverick are just two children whose lives will be transformed by World of Children’s campaign. Supporters can choose to underwrite the cost of a leg brace ($25), prosthetic limb ($250), or corrective surgery ($500). All campaign donations will support ALTSO, one of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations that provides care for children with limb disabilities in developing countries.
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About World of Children
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 $6 million in cash grants and program support to 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. The media often refers to World of Children as the Nobel Prize for child advocacy.
World of Children has been featured on 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, The Bonnie Hunt 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.
Most recently, The Huffington Post named World of Children’s Co-Founders, Harry Leibowitz and Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz, one of the United States’ most inspiring “power couples” for their lifetime commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable children around the world.
About A Leg To Stand On
A Leg To Stand On (“ALTSO”) is a non-profit organization providing free orthopedic care – including prosthetic limbs, orthotic devices, mobility aids, corrective surgery and rehabilitative care – to children in the developing world. Its mission is to offer children who have lost their limbs in traumatic accidents or suffer from congenital disabilities the physical capabilities to access the opportunities and self-esteem earned through education, work and mobility. ALTSO’s co-founder, C. Mead Welles, was the recipient of the 2013 World of Children Health Award.