Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, today honored the winners of its "Distinguished Philanthropic Award in Schools" initiative in a recognition ceremony hosted at Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in Dubai. The ceremony saw the winners of both the Philanthropic School Award and the Young Philanthropists Award collect their accolades, in acknowledgment of the hard work schools and students put behind a pool of effective fundraising concepts. The initiative raised funds and created ideas in support of Dubai Cares efforts to provide children in developing countries with access to quality education.
During the ceremony, Dubai Cares also honored the supporting partners which played a big role in making this initiative a successful reality, namely the UAE Ministry of Education, the Knowledge & Human Development Authority and the Abu Dhabi Education Council. In addition, the UAE-based global philanthropic organization acknowledged all participating schools which have shown great effort and creativity through their ideas in support of the organization's mission.
Dubai Cares invited all public and private schools across all 7 emirates to participate in its school initiative this year, encouraging the integration of philanthropy into the educational agenda of youth across the UAE. As a result, the initiative garnered well-developed and executed fundraising campaigns in line with Dubai Cares philanthropic work in the developing world.
Commenting on the significant level of participation, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: "The level of energy shown by schools and students through this initiative across the UAE has been truly inspiring. These awards enabled us, not only as a philanthropic organization, but also as a country, to instill the social entrepreneurial spirit in our schools and children. The winners were awarded based on the process and the outcomes of their fundraising efforts, and each entry has gone a long way towards supporting Dubai Cares and what we strive to achieve. I would like to thank all participants for their inputs and enthusiasm."
In the Philanthropic School Award category, the first, second and third place winners were GEMS The Millennium School, Al Qusais, GEMS The Kindergarten Starters and Dubai National School - Al Barsha, respectively. In the Young Philanthropists Award category, the first, second and third place winner teams were from GEMS Jumeirah College, Dubai English Speaking School and Pristine Private School, respectively. The Philanthropic School Award rewards the school that raises the highest amount of funds, while the Young Philanthropists Award recognizes the group of students with the most creative fundraising projects. In addition, during the recognition ceremony Dubai Cares unveiled a surprise trophy that was given to Adnoc Schools, Females Branch, Abu Dhabi, which raised the most amount of funds proportionate to its number of participating students.
"Once again we congratulate the winners, and extend our heartfelt thanks to our partners and all participants. This is an exemplary initiative that enables us to harvest the next generation of philanthropists in the UAE," Al Gurg concluded.