New York, New York (November 9, 2022) — Last night, CARE, the leading humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives, defeating poverty, and achieving social justice by empowering women and girls, hosted the 5th annual CARE Impact Awards at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.
The event was the organization’s first in-person Impact Awards since 2019. Cheryl Wills, the Emmy Award-winning journalist, author, and host of Spectrum News Talk Show, InFocus with Cheryl Wills, hosted the awards ceremony with a special performance from five-time Grammy Award-winning musician and activist Angélique Kidjo.
The program recognized extraordinary individuals dedicated to the pursuit of bold ideas and the determination of the human spirit. Each honoree was recognized for their philanthropy, activism, and groundbreaking work to further CARE’s mission around the globe.
Cheryl Wills opened the evening stating “tonight, we celebrate the vital work women around the world are doing in the face of conflict, climate change, and economic challenges.
Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA, inspired guests stating “it has taken 76 years for CARE to build our extraordinary platform for change, working in 100 countries through thousands of programs. Today, we seek to embrace the boldness and audacity of those initial founders of CARE after World War II and to create the most dynamic and vibrant network in the world to save lives and defeat poverty. We will center women and girls and families because they suffer disproportionately yet they have the greatest leverage to defeat poverty. We cannot let the last few years roll back our gains. We rise with determination to repair the broken places.”
View this post on Instagram
2022 CARE Impact Awards honorees
Tory Burch, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Tory Burch LLC and Founder, Tory Burch Foundation, CARE Impact Award for Women’s Inspirational Leadership
“When I started our company in 2004, empowering women wasn’t part of my business plan — it was my business plan… My dream was to support women, particularly women entrepreneurs. I understood the challenges they face, from sexist stereotypes to limited childcare support and virtually no access to funding. I think we can all agree that it’s appalling that 50 percent of entrepreneurs are women, but they receive less than 3 percent of venture capital.”
“How much more could women have aspired to if our textbooks taught the truth about the countless women who had a hand in history? How much bigger could women have dreamed if they could see themselves in those hidden figures? How much more could women have achieved if they grew up knowing their ambition wasn’t something to conceal, but a proud inheritance passed on from centuries of ambitious women?”
Christy Turlington Burns, Founder and President, Every Mother Counts, CARE Impact Award for Champion of Women
“Today, nearly 300,000 women die in childbirth each year, and most of those deaths are preventable through such simple things as education and training, adequate supplies, and access to care and services before, during, and postpartum. Distance is one of the biggest barriers to accessing critical care. In fact, the average distance a woman will walk to receive basic care is 5 miles, and the distance she will walk for emergency obstetric care is far longer… often 26.2 miles… the length of a marathon! Whether a woman lives in Sub Saharan Africa, Guatemala, or Arkansas, it can be incredibly difficult to access maternal and postpartum care. This is what led me to run my first marathon in 2010 and 9 more since then.”
“Thank you, CARE, for giving me that early introduction to the challenges faced by women and girls, and the solutions that are possible through humanitarian efforts. I am so grateful for the acknowledgement and recognition of the contribution Every Mother Counts has made in this global movement to address health disparities and inequities around the world.”
Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, Former Commissioner of the U.S. FDA and former Foreign Secretary, CARE Impact Award for Public Health
“CARE’s response to the COVID crisis has been the largest health campaign in the organization’s history. CARE’s global reach and dedication to public health has provided critical aid to millions of people at risk at home and around the world. But the work for CARE and the rest of us dedicated to science and public service is not over -we must make sure we learn the lessons this crisis has taught us to safeguard the future.”
“This award is a reminder that the work for public health is and must be a part of all of our work. Each and every day we must foster conditions that support health and enable access to needed care everywhere in the world. We must keep learning from our successes and from our failures – and together we must work to ensure a better, safer, more equitable future for everyone.”
Chang K. Park, President and CEO, Universal Remote Control Inc., CARE Impact Award for Philanthropic Leadership
“Hunger was a real plight. I have five siblings, and when we sat around to eat, sometimes my mother would not eat saying that she was not hungry that day. Looking back, I suspect that those were the days when we did not have enough to go around for all of us.”
“There are still a number of countries that are going through exactly what we went through at that time. Children are lining up, and mothers are skipping their meals for their children. We need CARE to reduce the suffering of the people, and give them hope and help them fulfill their full potential.”
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania, CARE Impact Award for Global Leadership
“What’s most important to note is that the majority of our farmers are women. Empowering them and increasing their prosperity by increasing the returns they can gain from value chains is not just good for them and the ripple effect that has in communities, but we can continue to be a beacon of hope in our region in East, Central and Southern Africa as well contributing to the global supply chain.”
The evening helped raise awareness and funds for CARE’s Global Hunger Crisis Campaign. The Ukraine conflict has tipped an already fragile world into a widespread hunger crisis. One person dies every four seconds from hunger, and CARE has launched a $250 million fundraising campaign to support 15 million people out of hunger by providing emergency assistance, climate-smart farming solutions, and by changing government food systems.
MathWorks was the Global Presenting Partner of the CARE Impact Awards. Delta Air Lines, Vanessa and Jay Hallik, and the Jacoby Family Foundation were Global Leadership Partners.
For more information, visit https://www.careimpactawards.org
MEDIA CONTACT:
Caroline Humphrey
care@sunshinesachs.com
(212) 691-2800
Anisa Husain
CARE Press Officer
Anisa.Husain@care.org