Alumni Honors

Announcing Four Heroes Unlocking the Future for Vulnerable Children

jorge rojas zegers
2017 World of Children Alumni Honoree Dr. Jorge Rojas-Zegers with one of the children in his program, COANIQUEM. Dr. Rojas-Zegers will be honored at the 2017 World of Children Hero Awards along with three other individuals.

March 7, 2017 (Los Angeles, CA) – World of Children®, a global recognition and funding organization for individuals exclusively serving the needs of vulnerable children, today announced the full slate of extraordinary individuals to be honored at the 2017 World of Children Hero Awards on Wednesday, April 19 at Montage Beverly Hills.

Model and child advocate Lily Aldridge Followill will present the first ever World of Children Crisis Award to CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon, in recognition of her work for Syrian child refugees. Damon is the Founder of INARA, which provides life-altering medical care for children from conflict areas who have catastrophic injuries and are unable to access treatment due to war. Damon’s Award will include funding raised in collaboration with U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Three other individuals will be honored for their work with vulnerable children in various parts of the world.  Each individual honored at the event will receive a specially-designed James Banks Design medal and a cash grant to continue their outstanding work with children.

jumana odeh
2017 World of Children Alumni Honoree Dr. Jumana Odeh with one of the children in her organization, Palestinian Happy Child Centre.

Dr. Jumana Odeh founded The Palestinian Happy Child Centre in 1994 in Ramallah to provide treatment and care to children with trauma and neurological disorders, as well as learning and developmental disabilities.

jorge rojas zegers
2017 World of Children Alumni Honoree Dr. Jorge Rojas-Zegers with one of the children in his organization, COANIQUEM

Dr. Jorge Rojas-Zegers founded COANIQUEM in his native Chile to provide free, comprehensive treatment for young burn victims throughout Latin America.

meghan pasricha
2017 World of Children Alumni Honoree Meghan Pasricha with one of the children helped by her organization, Global Youth H.E.L.P.

Meghan Pasricha co-founded Global Youth H.E.L.P Inc. to harness the power of youth by creating a global network of youth leaders who are dedicated to making a difference in the world.

Brooke Burke-Charvet, Actress, TV Personality, and CEO of ModernMom, will return for her third year as the Master of Ceremonies for the event, which will include a cocktail reception, dinner, and special performance by the Carlthorp School Chorus from Carlthorp School in Santa Monica, CA.

The latest pieces from the “Unlock the Future” jewelry collection made exclusively for World of Children by Heidi Nahser Fink and Adam Shulman of James Banks Design will be available for purchase at the event with 100% of proceeds going to the organization.

Fashion Designer Rachel Roy, CAA Agent Cade Hudson, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur Erica Wertheim Zohar, Producer David Salzman, and Veronica and Brian Grazer will join Lily Aldridge Followill as Honorary Chairs for the event.

About World Of Children

World of Children is led by Founders Harry Leibowitz and Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz, retired senior executives from Procter & Gamble and Victoria’s Secret respectively. Since they founded the organization in 1998, with the goal of setting the gold standard in child advocacy award programs, World of Children has granted more than $11.5 million in cash grants and program support to more than 100 Honorees who are the driving force behind programs that have served tens of millions of children worldwide.

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