Event to Take Place at the Louisville Marriott Downtown on September 19th

Previously Announced Awardees Include Harry Belafonte, Geena Davis, and Others

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (August 28, 2015) — The Third Annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards, to take place in Louisville, KY on Saturday, September 19^that the Marriott Louisville Downtown will celebrate the greatness of people from around the world who are making significant contributions pertaining to peace, social justice, human rights, or social capital. This theme of “greatness” even extends to its presenters, all who have diverse backgrounds and their own unique personal passions for greatness.

This year’s award presenters are:

• Lonnie Ali, along with her husband, is a Vice Chair of the Muhammad Ali Center
• Donald Lassere, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center
• Greg Fischer, Mayor of Metro Louisville, initiator of the city’s annual “Give A Day” Week, and Compassionate City advocate
• Max Joseph, filmmaker, co-host of MTV’s popular Catfish series, and Director of We Are Your Friends, opening in theaters today
• Jennifer Clinton, PhD, President and Global Ties U.S., which helped facilitate the awards process for the Six Principle winners
• Dhani Jones, entrepreneur, TV host, author, philanthropist, and former NFL linebacker
• Aaron Stevens (aka Damien Sandow), professional wrestler with the WWE, who resides in Louisville, KY

This charitable event of celebration and recognition will honor individuals from around the world.

Previously announced 2015 Humanitarian Awardees are:

Harry Belafonte, legendary and multi-talented artist and social justice activist, who will receive the prestigious Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Lifetime Achievement;

Geena Davis, Academy Award-winner,  humanitarian, and women’s advocate, who will be honored as the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year;

Dr. Andrew Moore from Lexington, Kentucky, founder of Surgery on Sunday, who will be named the 2015 Kentucky Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year; and

Rose Mapendo who will be honored with the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Gender Equality.

Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Janet Evans will be the emcee and host for the evening.

Core Principle Awardees

In addition to these awards, six young people, 30 years or younger, will be presented with an award that mirror Muhammad Ali’s  Six Core Principles: Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality.

Previously announced Six Core Principle Awardees are:

Kyla LaPointe, age 24 of Bathurst, New Brunswick will be honored for her Confidence as a leading advocate for child rights nationally and internationally.

Hadiqa Bashir, only 13 years old, will be honored for her Conviction in dedicating her young life to the advocacy of women’s and girl’s rights against forced child marriage in Pakistan.

Christopher Ategeka, 31, will receive the honor for Dedication. Born and raised in rural Uganda, orphaned at age 7, was educated at the University of California and, in 2011, used his hard-won experience to start Rides for Lives to address health inequity in his home country.

Veronika Scott, age 26, is receiving the Giving Award for creating a sustainable program that addresses a root cause of homelessness—unemployment—by providing homeless women with jobs as seamstresses who create thermal, waterproof coats for other homeless individuals.

Sasha Fisher, age 26, will be honored for the Respect core principle. Sasha is the co-founder and executive director of Spark MicroGrants. Spark enables remote villages in east Africa to design and launch their own social impact projects through a six-month facilitated collective action process.

Tanyella Evans, 28, will be honored for her extraordinary sense of Spirituality.  Driven by the philosophy that education is a basic human right, essential to prosperity and peace, Tanyella co-founded Library For All, an organization that offers a digital library platform to make quality educational resources available to individuals across the developing world.

For more information about all of the awardees, please go to www.alicenter.org and click on the “press” link.

Sponsors

In addition to the YUM! Brands Foundation, this year’s Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards are also supported by:  The Brown-Forman Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy, Horseshoe Southern Indiana, the Harold C. Schott Foundation, Tandem Public Relations and Marketing, River Bend Farms, and Ashbourne Farm.

Tickets to the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards

Tickets to the awards can be purchased through the Ali Center’s website, or by contacting Kelly Watson at kwatson@alicenter.org or (502) 992-5338.  Ticket sales end on September 13^th. For more information, visit https://alicenter.org/awards/

For more information on the third annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards visit alicenter.org/awards. To promote the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards on social media, please use this hashtag: #Ali Awards.

For questions, please call (502) 584-9254 or visit https://alicenter.org.

EDITORS NOTE:  Photos are available upon request. Media credentials are necessary to attend and cover the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award and must be received by September 8^th.