FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Georgia LEADERS HONORED AS AWARDS recipients AT

Annual Georgia Nonprofit Summit

ATLANTA, Ga. / May 7, 2008 --   The Georgia Center for Nonprofits (GCN) just announced at the 17th Annual Georgia Nonprofit Summit the recipients of the Revolutions and Evelyn G Ullman awards during a luncheon ceremony on Tuesday, May 6, 2008.

“The purpose of these awards is to acknowledge, recognize and celebrate revolutionary and innovative leaders and organizations within Georgia’s nonprofit sector. These individuals and organizations are the ones that inspire and motivate us everyday. These are the people that remind us why we do the work we do!” says Karen Beavor, President and CEO of The Georgia Center for Nonprofits. 

These honors were bestowed to the following:

2008 Revolutions Award for Outstanding Nonprofit Leader to Alana Shepherd, Founder of the Shepherd Center, for her more than 30 years of work in the Atlanta community to provide a world class, 120-bed facility for the treatment of spinal cord and brain injuries as well as advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. Alana and her family have been a strong voice for people with disabilities to make Georgia a more accessible state and more active in adaptive sports. Their efforts have resulted in getting lifts added to the MARTA bus system, making Hartsfield-Jackson Airport one of the country’s most accessible airports for the disabled, encouraging increased accessibility to the Georgia Dome, supporting local disability leaders in their fight for the ADA, and bringing the International Paralympic Games to Atlanta.

2008 Revolutions Award for Outstanding Nonprofit Organization to MedShare International for bridging the gap between surplus and need to improve healthcare and the environment through the efficient recovery and redistribution of surplus medical supplies and equipment to those most in need. The populations MedShare affects with its revolutionary mission literally circle the globe: clinics and hospitals in dire need of improved healthcare. Medical manufacturers, distributors and hospitals donate medical supplies and equipment to MedShare that would otherwise be waste dumped in landfills. By diverting this waste from landfills and engaging local healthcare personnel in their process, MedShare has a positive effect not only on its recipient communities but also on the metro Atlanta community.

2008 Revolutions Award for Legendary Philanthropist to Barbara T. (Bobbi) Cleveland, Executive Director of the Tull Charitable Foundation, for her remarkable and ongoing legacy as a leader, advocate and community catalyst for over three decades. She served for many years as a consultant to state government and nonprofit organizations, working on projects related to the planning and evaluation of health and human service programs. The Georgia Conservancy, APPLE Corps (a predecessor to the current Atlanta Education Fund), Family Connection Partnership and The Junior League of Atlanta are just a partial list of organizations in which Bobbi has played a founding or key role. In 2003, Bobbi was instrumental in the founding of Voices for Georgia’s Children, a statewide child advocacy organization.  She is currently providing leadership for the formation of EMBRACE, a statewide public-private initiative that focuses on the recruitment and retention of foster families.

2008 Revolutions Emerging Award for Philanthropist to Keith Brooking, founder of The Keith Brooking Children's Foundation and Atlanta Falcons All-Pro Linebacker, for his commitment to serving foster children and the agencies that serve them.  In 2003, Keith established the Keith Brooking Children’s Foundation. This has been his conduit for his passion of serving the foster children of the metro Atlanta area. Through the foundation, he has been able to provide numerous opportunities for foster children ranging from scholarships for education, transportation for community shelters, grants for specific needs, to hundreds of pairs of athletic shoes for metro Atlanta children.

2008 Evelyn G Ullman Innovative Leadership Award to Sally Bethea, Executive Director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, for her leadership in improving the quality of drinking water in metro Atlanta and throughout the Chattahoochee watershed and for her work developing solutions to ensure clean water for future generations.  The 12-person staff along with thousands of members and volunteers have stopped hundreds of illegal discharges into the Chattahoochee and helped local governments and industries comply with clean water laws. Highlights representing Sally’s impact on the community include the creation of the only floating classroom program for Georgia’s youth, reduction in sewage spills throughout Atlanta—from over 1,000 to 286 last year, and permanent protection of 1,887 acres of green space along urban streams. This award, a check in the amount of $15,000 written to the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, is made available by the Evelyn G. Ullman family.

More details on the winners can be found on the Georgia Center for Nonprofits website at http://www.gcn.org/Services/GeorgiaNonprofitSummit2008/Revolutions2008Winners.aspx

http://www.gcn.org/Services/GeorgiaNonprofitSummit2008/UllmanAward2008/2008EvelyngUllmanAwardWinner.aspx

###

About the Georgia Center for Nonprofits
An all-in-one resource for and about Georgia's nonprofit sector, the Georgia Center for Nonprofits works to serve, strengthen and support nonprofit, charitable organizations statewide. The Center provides nonprofits with the resources and tools they need to be most effective; promotes partnerships between nonprofits and foundations, businesses and government to meet critical needs; and helps state and local policy-makers and the public, understand and support the work of nonprofits. More information is available online at www.gcn.org.

Contact:  Lynne Norton, Marketing Manager 678-916-3066 or ln@gcn.org.