Honoring individuals who make a difference in the World Of Children
Kellogg’s and Cardinal Health each hand out $100,000 awards to individuals for amazing achievements in children’s advocacy

By Chad Howell and Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired
Photos by Douglas Nicodemus, PhotographicResources.com

On Saturday, November 16, 2002 the Hannah Neil World of Children Awards held their fifth annual dinner and celebration to honor a few who make a world of difference in the world of children. The awards program was created in 1998 to honor and recognize those selfless individuals who make a world of difference in the lives of children across the globe, regardless of political, religious and geographical boundaries.

The ceremony, held again at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus, Ohio, was expanded in 2002 to include two separate $100,000 awards, the Kellogg’s Child Development Award and The Cardinal Health Children’s Care Award. This year’s six Honorees, including the award recipients, were chosen from over 161 nominations in 27 different countries.

Carlos Gutierrez, Chairman & CEO of Kellogg's presented the Kellogg’s Child Development Award to CINDE founded by Glendon P. Nimnicht, Ed.D. Nimnicht who has dedicated his life to improving the life of those living in poverty in the United States, Latin America and additional Third world countries. Nimnicht and his wife, Marta Arango founded Promesa. Promesa is an integrated community development project focused on improving the overall environments of children and families.

“This will mean more things to Columbia than you can imagine,” Nimnicht said. “We will take this money, we will use it in a new program of Columbians helping Columbians (and) will be focused on creating child parent centers throughout Columbia.”

Bob Walter, Chairman & CEO of Cardinal Health, presented their newly added award to Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, who has devoted himself to children and families for over half a century.

Through Dr. Brazelton’s many publications, television series and a host of training venues, he has reached and touched numerous children, families and practitioners. Brazelton’s most significant contribution is to the understanding of children is his Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, which allows the medical community to better understand newborn behaviors and disorders.

“This money will go to my foundation which will support the programs and outreach around the country,” he commented. “We now have forty-two and we have eight new American Indian sights we will be nurturing to try to get them in early head start and preserve the cultures in the process.”

Brazelton took a moment to thank World of Children president, David Lippy and to express his feelings to the millions that could hear him. “David and Pam Lippy, I think what you have done for all of us by bringing this to the surface and giving us a chance to think about children and families as a nation is really on time. And we need it, we deserve it,” he stated. “We’re a wonderful country, but we haven’t been paying enough time to our children and families, and here is our chance.”

The World Of Children also introduced the first-ever Founder’s Award. This new award recognized one young person who is making an extraordinary contribution to children.

Craig Kielburger, who is from Ontario, Canada, first became a spokesperson for children’s rights when he was only 12 years old. He gathered a group of friends and founded the organization, Kids Can Free the Children.

Kielburger used his family’s den as a headquarters to begin the work for the protection of children’s rights. They wrote letters to political leaders and circulated petitions. Craig, who is now nineteen years old, has visited more than forty countries to speak out for children’s rights. Kielburger received a $10,000 scholarship along with the award.

“I accept this honor on behalf of the more than one-hundred thousand young people involved in creative children’s actions in more than thirty-five countries. Chapters of youth who have dedicated their time and energy to provide children with education, with a brighter future,” he said. “And the message is very simple, we’re trying to say, please open your minds and your hearts and believe in the ability and power of children to move the world.”

CNN News Anchor, Leon Harris emceed the award ceremony for the fourth year in a row. The World of Children Choir opened the ceremony in a song entitled ‘World Of Children’. Over 300 children entered from both sides of the stage and from the back of the Aladdin Shrine Center, wearing different colored sweatshirts as they made their way to the stage and backed the stage with a beautiful color arrangement.

Harris kicked of the ceremony with a glimpse of his views as a CNN anchor on the tragic events that happened in the nations capital in the last year. He spoke of the Pentagon attacks of September 11th, the Anthrax scare and on how a child was gunned down on his way to school by a cowardly sniper.

“Do you ever wonder what it would feel like to be a kid living in DC? Could you just imagine that? Could you imagine having childhood, literally stolen from you?” he said. “It’s one thing to be afraid of the dark, but it’s a whole different thing to fear living. Millions of children in this world are vulnerable in pain and without hope, their childhoods robbed, their voices silent.”

Harris stated, “What is often overseen are the individuals that are speaking out and donating their own time to give back the children their childhoods. The Hannah Neil World of Children awards honors those individuals.”

The evening was caped off with the World of Children anthem, a beautiful song entitled ‘Can You Hear?’ performed by Columbus, Ohio residents Schuyler Johnson, 13, of WC Handy Community School and Jenna Handler, 15, of Dublin Scioto. Johnson and Handler bring the struggles of children to life through the song and was a beautiful way to top off a memorable and special evening to help children.

The other two Honorees for the Kellogg’s Child Development Award were Luke L. Hingson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Henri Landwirth of Jacksonville, Florida

Luke L. Hingson has guided the growth and development of the Brother’s Brother Foundation, a humanitarian aid organization that helps people in many countries, through local agencies, government institutions, universities, hospitals and many other associations.

Henri Landwirth developed close friendships at a motel he managed near Cape Canaveral, Florida. With those friendships, together they founded the Mercury Seven Foundation, which is now known as the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Their foundation provides scholarships to young science students.

The Cardinal Health Children’s Care Award Honorees were Abel Albino, M.D. of Mendoza, Argentina and Sharon M. Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., R.N. of Lee’s Summit, Missouri

Albino created the Cooperative for Infantile Nutrition; which is a non-profit organization. His organization helps take control of prevention and treatment of malnutrition and its consequence. Kirkpatrick has spent more than twenty-five years creating mother and child health care programs in Third World countries. Kirkpatrick established the Traditional Birth Attendant Programs in the Congo and Zambia to train women in safe deliveries in their own homes.

Musical entertainment was provided by the World of Children Choir, which included three hundred local children from Prairie Norton, Goshen Lane, Lincoln, Fifth Avenue Alternative, Wellington School and High Point Elementary.

Several children from the choir were chosen to lead the nominees to the stage, where each nominee was given a moment to express their thoughts on being nominated. Selected children from the choir presented the $100,000 checks to the honorees.

The Magical Strings of Youth, who are scheduled to play at the White House next month, demonstrated an amazing talent by playing their violins beautifully and impressively behind their backs and lying on the stage. The ensemble hails from Chicago and range from 4 to 17 years of age.

The Chinese Lion and Dragon Dance, by the Fifth Avenue Alternative Elementary School for International Studies, performed a unique twist using colorful Chinese dragons and dancing to the music.

It just shows that this year’s awards were the highlight of a full year of behind the scenes work by unselfish individuals doing wonderful things. For more information on the World of Children and to perhaps nominate someone you know for next year's awards, please go to http://www.WorldofChildren.org.