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Ali Center announces Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award recipients

Dr. Anthony Fauci, World Central Kitchen, Alice Houston, and NBA Star Malcom Brogdon headline slate of nine awardees . National CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller to host the event

The ninth annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards will take place Saturday, November 5, and boasts another esteemed panel of nominees.

The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards are the Center’s largest annual fundraiser and incorporate two categories: Seasoned Awards, honoring individuals who have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to humanitarianism and a host of philanthropic causes, and Six Core Principle Awards, presented to young adults 30 years of age or younger.

Dr. Anthony Fauci will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and throughout the global COVD-19 Pandemic.

World Central Kitchen will receive the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award. World Central’s Kitchen’s mission is to respond first to humanitarian, climate, and community crises with food.

World Central Kitchen was on the scene in Kentucky during both the tornadoes in Western Kentucky and the flooding in Eastern Kentucky.

Alice Houston will receive the Kentucky Humanitarian Award. Houston is a prominent businesswoman, philanthropist, community leader, and education advocate who’s been making a difference in the Louisville community for decades.

Joining those seasoned awardees will be six young international humanitarians doing work in their countries and communities which embodies one of Muhammad Ali’s Six core principles: Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality.

Gitanjali Rao, 17 (United States) will be awarded for Confidence, this after being named the first-ever Time Magazine Kid of the Year. Rao’s inventions help to detect lead content in water, provide early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction, and counter cyberbullying.

Lefteris Arapakis, 28 (Greece) receives the Conviction Award for his work combatting pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. Arapakis’s organization, Enaleia, teaches fisherman to clean plastic out of the sea. Mohamad Al Jounde, 23 (Syria) will be honored for his Dedication to education. His work gives 200 children access to education through his Gharsah School in Lebanon. Liam Elkind, 22 (United States) is a Yale College senior receiving the Giving Award. During the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, Elkind co-founded Invisible Hands to help ensure food access and medical supplies to at-risk community members.

2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year Malcom Brogdon, 29 (United States) will be recognized for his work in Tanzania and around the world with the Respect Award. Brogdon helps lead the Brogdon Family Foundation, which works toward access to clean water and quality education for all people. South Sudanese activist Lual Mayen rounds out the Core Principle slate for his work around the world to fight for refugee and migrant rights. Lual founded Junub Games to help teach kids the importance of peace through video games.

CBS News’ Michelle Miller will serve as the evening’s emcee. Miller is currently the co-host of CBS Saturday Morning.

To involve the larger Louisville community in this prestigious event, the Ali Center will hold public events surrounding the annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards. These events, called Days of Greatness, will take place on November 4th and 5th. More information on those events to follow.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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