Press Release: Indian Man Honored with International Award for his Work with Children in Tamil Nadu
WORLD OF CHILDREN® AWARD ANNOUNCES 2016 HONOREES
Indian Man Honored with International Award for his Work with Children in Tamil Nadu
San Francisco, Ca. – September 15, 2016 – World of Children®, an organization dedicated to setting the gold standard in child advocacy, announced today its 2016 Honorees, an extraordinary group of real-life heroes working to dramatically improve the lives of children.
Indian Iyyappan Subramaniyan of Tamil Nadu was named as the 2016 World of Children Humanitarian Honoree for his leadership of Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust, located in Kolathur. The organization, which he founded in 2002 at just 21 years of age, is dedicated to the protection and care of abandoned children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Recognized as the “Nobel Prize for Child Advocates,” honorees will receive a grant to help their program grow and ultimately impact the lives of even more children. Subramaniyan’s Award comes with a minimum $50,000USD grant over the course of three years. He plans to use the funding to expand his organization’s capacity to house and care for abandoned girl children.
Subramaniyan’s organization was the first home of its kind in Tamil Nadu. Growing up with an older brother born with Down Syndrome, he saw the stigma his entire family faced in their community. Determined to do something to help other children born with intellectual and developmental disabilities, he graduated from MITHRA in Chennai with a diploma in multipurpose rehabilitation and rented a single room to begin his work. Since its founding, Sri Arunodayam has become a model for newer organizations seeking to help vulnerable children in Tamil Nadu.
Subramaniyan will join World of Children and four other winners from around the world in New York City at the 2016 Awards Ceremony in New York City at 583 Park Avenue on Thursday, October 27. He will share his work in a brief address to the evening’s guests – 450 individuals from top firms in the fashion, retail, finance, and insurance industries.
World of Children receives thousands of nominations from almost 100 countries annually and uses a uniquely rigorous vetting process to select honorees, including an on-site investigation and independent audit of each finalist.
Learn more about Subramaniyan’s work: http://worldofchildren.org/honoree/iyyappan-subramaniyan/
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 $8 million in cash grants and program support to more than 100 individuals leading programs serving children worldwide.
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