I would like to publicly thank President Obama for his thoughtful and generous gifts to many deserving charity and education organizations around the world. President Obama had stated that he would donate his Nobel Peace Prize money which totaled 1.4 million dollars to charity. The announced recipients and awards are;
- $250,000 to the Fisher House, which provides housing for families with loved ones at Veterans Administration hospitals.
- $200,000 to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, for which the two former presidents are raising money to rebuild earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
- $125,000 apiece to groups that help students go to college: College Summit, a national nonprofit that works with elementary and middle school students to boost college enrollment rates; the Posse Foundation, which gives full college scholarships to public school students not recognized by traditional scholarship programs; United Negro College Fund; the Hispanic Scholarship Fund; the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation; and the American Indian College Fund.
- $100,000 to AfriCare, which funds HIV/AIDs programs, public health programs, water resource development, and agricultural projects in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
- $100,000 to the Central Asia Institute, which promotes education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
I had suggested in personal letter to President Obama, and in a previous diary that he give his prize money to the Central Asia Institute, but his decision to split up the awards is testament to his wisdom, and it guarantees a larger benefit to a diverse group of organizations that are making a difference in the world. I am gratified that he saw fit to recognize the CAI as worthy of recognition.
Bravo Barack!
And Congratulations to all of the Award reciepients!