L’Oreal honors 13 'Women of Worth' at awards presentation

NEW YORK At a special awards presentation held Monday evening in New York City, beauty company L’Oreal Paris honored 13 women for their volunteerism and community achievement.

“The four simple words ‘Because I’m Worth It’ continue to serve as the inspiration for the L’Oreal Paris community,” stated Carol Hamilton, president of L’Oreal Paris. “We’re thrilled to be honoring these 13 amazing women from all across the country for their dedication to their communities.”

The 13 honorees were:

• Maureen Cavaiola, 59, of Severna Park, Md., founded “Partners in Care,” an organization that helps older and disabled adults remain independent in their own homes.
• Tara Church, 29, of New York, co-founded the world’s first youth environmental nonprofit, “Tree Musketeers” at age 8.
• Meagan Corlin, 23, of Strafford, N.H., founded the “StarMight Foundation” at age 17, a non-profit organization that empowers youth to make a difference through volunteerism.
• Angelia Curran, 41, of Smith’s Station, Ala., is the Deputy Chief of the “Friendship Volunteer Fire Department”, a volunteer fire department she began volunteering for at age 15.
• Anne Garrett Addison, 45, of Lake Stephens, Washington, co-founded the “Preeclampsia Foundation”, whose mission is to reduce maternal and infant illness and death due to preeclampsia.
• Millicent “Mama” Hill, 67, Los Angeles, established “Mama Hill’s Help” which provides tutoring for more than 125 neighborhood youth in South Los Angeles.
• Gayle Hutchens, 60, of Indianapolis, founded “Paws & Think”, which matches underserved youth with shelter dogs to enhance the lives of adults and children with special needs.
• Shamika Lee, 27, of Boston, volunteers at “Graham Windham”, a home that provides preventive services as well as foster care and adoption.
• Pauline Lewis, 69, of Phoenix, founded the “Phoenix Foundation for Homeless Children” and ministers to hundreds of homeless children and their families by tending to their medical, nutritional, and other basic needs.
• Wendy Masi, 55, of Fort Lauderdale, established the “Love Jen Fund,” which provides emergency financial assistance to families who have a child sick with cancer.
• Eva Payne, 31, of Lincoln, Neb., founded “Camp Kindle,” a summer camp for young people impacted by HIV and AIDS.
• Hesther Rippy, 80, of Lehi, Utah, founded the “Lehi-Rippy Literacy Center,” which offers effective one-on-one literacy training to help families and individuals develop the necessary reading skills to thrive in society.
• Karen Stark, 58, of Oklahoma City, Okla., founded the “HUGS Project,” a nationwide troop support effort.

All 13 honorees received $2,500 on their behalf for their non-profit cause, plus a matching $2,500 monetary donation in their names to The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, the 10-year charitable partner of L’Oreal Paris.

In addition, L’Oreal announced that Stark was chosen by popular vote as the Woman of Worth National Honoree for with her work with The HUGS Project, a national organization that provides handmade supplies for US troops oversees.

Stark will receive an additional $25,000 for The HUGS Project from L’Oreal Paris. More than 35,000 people voted online www.womenofworth.com.