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The Saint Paul Foundation Seeks Nominations for Facing Race Ambassador Awards

(Saint Paul, Minn.) – As part of its ongoing effort to create a more equitable, just and open community, The Saint Paul Foundation’s Facing Race anti-racism initiative has issued a call for nominations for its sixth annual Ambassador Awards. The awards were created to recognize people in the region who are committed to building a community in which everyone feels safe, valued and respected.

“The Ambassador Awards give the community an annual opportunity to honor the extraordinary work that individuals are doing in Minnesota to help end racism,” said Carleen Rhodes, president and CEO of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners which staffs and supports The Saint Paul Foundation. “We are delighted that participation has continued to grow since the event was first held in 2007, and we look forward to 2011 continuing this trend.”

This year, Facing Race will offer two awards: one to honor work focused in the East Metro area and one for work focused anywhere in the state of Minnesota. Each of the two Ambassador Award recipients will be presented with a cash award of $10,000 to be directed to a nonprofit or public entity to further work in creating a more equitable community.

Application guidelines and forms can be downloaded at FacingRace.org. All nominations must be postmarked by December 7, 2011.

The Ambassador Awards will be conferred on April 23, 2012 during a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Saint Paul. More than 500 community members are expected to attend.

In addition to honoring local leaders committed to undoing racism, the Ambassador Awards ceremony will feature keynote speaker Dr. Anton Treuer, a professor at Bemidji State University and an expert in the area of Ojibwe language preservation and revitalization. Dr. Treuer is also a former Facing Race Ambassador Award honorable mention.

The 2011 Ambassador Award recipients were:

Velma J. Korbel director of the City of Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, (Minnesota Award) Nathaniel Abdul Khaliq, community activist and retired president of the Saint Paul NAACP – (East Metro Award)

The Ambassador Awards are a program of The Saint Paul Foundation’s Facing Race initiative, which gives individuals and institutions in Minnesota the tools to discuss issues of race and racism and moves them to take action to end discrimination in the communities in which they live and work.

About The Saint Paul Foundation

Since 1940, thousands of generous individuals committed to the Saint Paul area have made charitable gifts to The Saint Paul Foundation. Today, the Foundation is the state’s largest community foundation. Guided by the legacy of its earliest donors, the Foundation today helps donors achieve their charitable giving goals and have long-lasting impact in the community. The Foundation is an affiliate of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. Learn more at saintpaulfoundation.org and mnpartners.org.

 

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