Press Release: 2010 Angel of Freedom Awards
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas Announces Angel of Freedom Awards for 2010
Media Advisory DALLAS/EWORLDWIRE/Oct. 18, 2010 --- Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI),a nonprofit agency in Dallas, hasannounced the recipients of the prestigious 2010 Angel of Freedom Awards: The Meadows Foundation, Ms. Lori Feehan, and Hunton & Williams LLP. The awards will be presented at the Annual HRI Thanksgiving Event on Monday, November 1, 2010 in the Wilson Historic District, home of HRI's new location at 2801 Swiss Avenue in Dallas. This is also the ten-year celebration of the founding of the organization..."ten years of protecting global human rights and restoring dignity...one life at a time in North Texas". These organizations and individuals have made significant contributions, enabling HRI to better serve its clients and to meet theorganization's mission. The generosity of these awardees has made a profound difference in the lives of many peopleliving in North Texas. The Meadows Foundation Through the years, the Meadows Foundation has supported HRI through the grants and matching gifts programs. The Meadows Foundation is a private family philanthropy established byAlgur H. and Virginia Meadows in 1948. Within its broad mission, the Foundation looks for programs and services that employ imaginative and innovative ways to help fragile populations improvetheir quality of life through programs that alleviate pain, enhance social skills, provide protection from abuse, lead to self-sufficiency, and promote better human relations. HRI provides many such programs to indigent immigrants who have been victims of human rights abuses. Among its philanthropic initiatives, The Meadows Foundation has established the Wilson Historic District as a nonprofit campus where 39 selected nonprofit agencies are provided rent-free office space, as well as management and technical assistance, in restored turn-of-the-century homes andnew structures. HRI was awarded office space in one of the new structures in the District in 2009. "We are pleased to support the mission of the Human Rights Initiative by welcoming them to the Wilson District," said Foundation Presidentand CEO Linda Perryman Evans. "It is our hope that the elimination of costly office rent will help the organization better focus its resources on the important work of providing needed services and restoring dignity to vulnerable immigrant populations in our community". Ms. Lori Feehan Ms. Lori Feehan is a past HRI Board Chair. She has continued to show her unwavering support to HRI each year through her financial support and vast personal andprofessional connections in the human rights arena. Ms. Feehan resides in Denver, Colorado and currently serves at the Board Chair for the USA for UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. Ms. Feehan is also a past Chair of the Dallas Women's Foundation. When Ms. Feehan was notified as a 2010 Angel of Freedom recipient, her response was, "I am so honored to receive this award. The work done by HRI is absolutely essential and unparalleled in our community. I have always been impressed at the quiet way the organization and its many volunteers accomplish so much. I am proud to have been a small part of their pastwork". Hunton & Williams, LLP Hunton & Williams has provided considerable pro bono legal resources to HRI. Legal services are core to HRI's mission and without the strong support of Hunton & Williams, this mission could not be accomplished. In the past fiscal year alone, Hunton & Williams provided almost $150,000 in legal services to enable HRI's annual success, with the involvement of ten lawyers from the Dallas office, in a variety of cases involving victims of violence. "At Hunton & Williams, our passion is helping those in need and this recognition by Human Rights Initiative underscores our commitment to providing pro bono legal service,"said Patrick Mitchell, managing partner in the Dallas office. "We are proud to support the valuable work of HRI and we are honored to receive the 2010 Angel of Freedom Award." Recognizing our generous supporters for underwriting the Ten Year Celebration and 2010 Angel of Freedom Awards Presentations are: Akin GumpStrauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Thompson & Knight LLP and Haynes & BooneLLP. About Human Rights Initiative of North Texas - www.hrionline.org The mission of Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) is to providefree legal representation and social services to indigent victims of human rights abuses and to serve as a community resource on international human rights issues. HRI's clients include victims of human rights abuses seeking asylum in the United States, victimsof spousal or childabuse at the hands of a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, immigrant children who often flee fromviolence and travel to the U.S. alone, or immigrant children that have been abused, abandoned or neglected by their parents in the U.S. These individuals have suffered persecution in their homeland for exercising the very freedoms that we take for granted:freedom of speech, of religious practice,of political belief,and of gender roles.
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