Refugees International Presents Top Humanitarian Award to Former U.S. Senator William H. Frist at 31st Annual Gala

WASHINGTON, May 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Refugees International will host its 31st annual gala to honor humanitarians for the passion they have shown and the change they have achieved in tackling the world's humanitarian needs. The gala, held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium and emceed by actor and RI board member Sam Waterston, celebrates Refugees International's long history of advocating for the world's most vulnerable people, those displaced by crisis or conflict.

Former Senate Majority Leader and physician Bill Frist is this year's McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award recipient. Sen. Frist was recognized for his humanitarian leadership in Congress and his on-the-ground work, providing medical assistance and counsel in times of crisis.  He was instrumental in getting the U.S. to define the actions in Darfur as genocide, and led the initiative to establish the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief that provides treatment to more than 2 million people and care to more than 10 million.  As a physician, Sen. Frist has conducted more than a dozen medical missions to war-torn Sudan and performed hundreds of lifesaving surgeries following the Haiti earthquake.

"We are pleased to present Bill Frist with the McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award," stated Dan Glickman, president of Refugees International. "Throughout his career, he has served as an international ambassador for health and human rights, a public servant and advocate, and a skilled physician providing medical relief in desperate situations."

"I'm absolutely honored to receive the 2010 McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award," said Sen. Frist. "The work that Refugees International does day after day is impressive, and it is my hope that all of us can be a voice for lifesaving action for refugees around the world."

Refugees International will also celebrate the life of the organization's former president, Kenneth H. Bacon, who died last August.

The McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award is named in memory of Penny and David McCall and Yvette Pierpaoli who died during a Refugees International mission to Albania in 1999, and honors individuals who have demonstrated tireless commitment to humanitarian ideals and improved service to refugees and displaced people. 

Refugees International is a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises and receives no government or UN funding. RI was founded in 1979 to advocate for the protection of Indochinese refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. For more information, go to: http://www.refugeesinternational.org

SOURCE Refugees International