Robin Hood Announces Winners of 2011 Heroes Award

Robin Hood, New York City's largest private poverty fighting organization today honored a few special New Yorkers and organizations that have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and made a lasting impact in the fight against poverty. The groups that were honored will each receive a $50,000 grant to help them continue and expand their efforts.

Featured speakers included representatives from each of the honored groups, including Per Scholas, a nonprofit leader in IT career training and job placement for individuals from low-income, urban communities; Women in Need, which offers transitional residential housing Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, along with support services, to help families address the underlying causes that contribute to homelessness; and The Relay Graduate School of Education (formerly Teacher U), which offers a part-time, two-year master's program for full-time New York City public school teachers to train them to use proven techniques to help students excel.
"With all the grim economic news that's been reported lately, it's easy to forget that there are still individuals and groups who are doing good work right here in our own community," said David Saltzman, executive director of Robin Hood. "I am awed by the ingenuity and commitment our honorees have demonstrated to helping New Yorkers in need."

The individuals who accepted the awards on behalf of the organizations included:
Delkys Ortiz Pena, a 20 year-old student who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, and who graduated at the top of his class from Per Scholas. He now works for a mid-town technology client working on solving client IT issues; Mutiya Vision, a teacher, mother, volunteer and co-author of ten children's books, whose family relied from Women in Need's vast resources when she was a child; and, Norman Atkins, co-founder and president of The Relay Graduate School of Education, and founder of Uncommon Charter Schools.

Several members of Robin Hood's board and leadership council also spoke at this morning's award ceremony, including Lee S. Ainslie III, managing partner of Maverick Capitol Ltd and Chairman of Robin Hood's board of directors; Daniel S. Och, chairman and chief executive officer of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and vice-chairman of Robin Hood's board of directors; Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone; Nancy Jarecki, founder of Betty Beauty; and, Paul Tudor Jones, founder of Tudor Investment Corporation and co-founder of Robin Hood.

About Robin Hood
For more than 20 years, Robin Hood has fought poverty in New York City. It finds, funds and partners with programs that have proven to be an effective remedy to poverty and is a consistent force for good in the lives of New Yorkers in need. Robin Hood employs a rigorous system of metrics and third-party evaluation to ensure accountability from organizations that receive its' funds. The board pays all administrative and fundraising costs, so 100% of donations go directly to helping New Yorkers in need. It works closely with groups that receive grants to make them more effective, enabling them to assist even more people. In 2010, Robin Hood invested over $132 million in more than 200 programs and schools, directly touching the lives of over 650,000 New Yorkers.