Peter H.Thomas Inducted Into the Caring Hall of Fame

Most caring people in America named

Caring Institute names inductees to the Caring Hall of Fame

WASHINGTON (October 4, 2010) – Senator and former Majority Leader Robert J. Dole, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Caring Institute, today announced the winners of the 2010 Caring Awards.

Six remarkable adults and five youths will be honored during the Caring Awards ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on October 5 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Grapevine, Texas. An international winner will also be recognized that day and a Mother Teresa Caring Achievement Award will commemorate the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy for a lifetime of exceptional public service.

“On behalf of our Board of Trustees, it is a great honor for us to pay tribute to these extraordinary people who have used their lives for the betterment of others. They are wonderful role models and the very personification of caring,” said Senator Dole.

Val J. Halamandaris, Founder and Executive Director of the Caring Institute, said he was proud to announce Sen. Bob Dole is being honored this year by the Caring Institute Board of Trustees with its Guardian Angel Award. “No one has done more for Americans or to advance the Caring Institute than Senator Dole,” said Halamandaris.

The Caring Institute’s mission is to promote the values of caring, integrity, and public service. It was founded in 1985 by Val J. Halamandaris after a meeting with Mother Teresa, who told him there was a poverty of the spirit seen in the developed world that was much worse than the poverty of the body seen in the third world. When she directed him to do something about it, he founded an awards program that identifies those who give back to society in outstanding ways and then holds them up as role models for all. The Caring Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and all donations are tax deductible by law.

2010 Annual Caring Award Winners:

U.S. Caring Award:

Lance Armstrong, Founder, Lance Armstrong Foundation, Austin, TexasLance has raised over $350 million to support cancer patients, provide funding to spur innovation and make cancer research a priority in the world.

Cathey Brown, Founder and Executive Director, Rainbow Days, Dallas, Texas

Cathey gives high-risk kids the help they need to stay drug and alcohol free, cope with their dysfunctional families, make healthy choices and believe they have a purpose. Rainbow Days has directly reached 120,000 children in Dallas and trained people to implement its curriculum in nearly every state.

Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg, Founders, St. Bernard Project, Chalmette, Louisiana

Liz and Zack have rebuilt over 300 homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina and also run a mental health center for the hurricane victims and families that lost their livelihoods to the Gulg oil spill.

Vicki Minor, Founder, Wildland Firefighter Foundation, Boise, Idaho

Vicki spreads compassion by giving money and emotional support to families of wildland firefighters who have been injured or killed in the line of duty. She has also given the survivors a place to grieve by creating a monument with markers for nearly every wildland firefighter who has ever fallen.

Kevin Shannon, M.D., Pediatric Cardiologist and Founder, Camp del Corazon, North Hollywood, California

Kevin gives children with heart disease the chance to attend a free camp where they can experience the simple joys of childhood. The camp is staffed by volunteer doctors, nurses and many former campers who show 400 kids each year that they can live full and rich lives.

International Award:

Peter H. Thomas, Founder and Chairman, LifePilot, Kelowna, BC, Canada

Canada’s foremost real estate magnate has transcended the death of his son by dedicating his life to helping the mentally ill, imparting leadership values to youth and teaching convicts to rebuild their lives. He’s also the author of LifeManual, a bestselling book that teaches thousands to succeed by leading values-based lives.

Guardian Angel Award:

Hon. Robert J. Dole

Senator Bob Dole served our country for 37 years in the U.S. Congress, where he became Senate majority leader. Among his achievements are the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the enactment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. He has also served the public by raising funds to help the families of 9/11 victims and erect the World War II Memorial.

Mother Teresa Caring Achievement Award:

Hon. Edward M. Kennedy

Ted Kennedy was the “lion of the Senate” who helped those left out and those left behind. He was perhaps the greatest Senator of all time and among the most caring to ever serve in Congress. During his 77 years on earth, he endured uncommon tragedy and hardships that only increased his resolve to make our country a Camelot for all.

2010 Annual Caring Award Young Adult Winners:

Molly and Carly Houlahan, Founders, Hives for Lives, Devon, Pennsylvania

Ages 18 and 16

Molly and Carly have raised $170,000 to “bee-t” cancer by running a honey business that donates all its profits to cancer research centers and clinics. They also make candles and lip balm as part of a product line sold in 30 states and head a young business leaders club to on their expertise as entrepreneurs.

Amanda LaMunyon, Artist and Volunteer, Enid, Oklahoma

Age 16

Amanda’s gifts for painting and singing have shown others the abilities of the disabled and helped raise $4 million for the Children’s Miracle Network. She has shared her story on numerous telethons and recited a poem before the UN to give the public a better perspective on people who are different.

Talia Leman, Founder, Randomkid, Waukee, Iowa

Age 15

Talia has guided and funded kids from 20 countries on projects that improve life for 7,000 people around the world. Together, they have provided science technology for low-income students, an interactive play center for hospitalized kids, built a school in Cambodia and bought a water pump for a village in Africa.

Alison Mansfield, Founder, Operation U.S. Troop Support, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Age 15

Alison has sent our troops $250,000 worth of care packages and thousands of letters of support. She rallied her Girl Scout troop to seek donations of cookies, asked hotels to donate toiletries and raised more than $24,000 to pay for shipping.

Joshua Williams, Founder, Joshua’s Heart, Miami, Florida

Age 9

Joshua has given 250,000 pounds of food, clothing, books and toys to South Florida’s poor with help from young people called Joshua’s Elves. He has also raised $5,000 to renovate a low-income teen center and is launching a program to give backpacks of food to school kids on weekends and during vacations.

The Caring Institute operates a museum, the Caring Hall of Fame, located in what was the first Washington D.C. home of the great human rights advocate, Frederick Douglass. Caring Award winners are inducted into this Hall of Fame, located three blocks east of the U.S. Capitol, at 320 A. Street, NE, Washington, D.C.