Starfish receives award

Here is the press release I sent out this morning... it's strange being on this side of the reporting process....

Starfish Initiative wins “Charity of Ethics” award

Indianapolis, IN – Starfish Initiative was named the 2008 Charity of Ethics at the Central Indiana Better Business Bureau “Celebration of Ethics” Thursday.

Presented by the Central Indiana Better Business Bureau and sponsored by Riley, Bennett & Egloff, The Charity of Ethics award honors a charity that goes above and beyond in its service to the community. Starfish also received a $2,000 check from Riley, Bennett & Egloff.

Starfish provides mentoring services to promising students who qualify for Indiana’s Twenty-first Century Scholars Scholarship.

“At a time of economic uncertainty, those who support our organization want to be sure that their funds are being used wisely. We are honored to be recognized as an ethical organization and know that this award will ensure donors that Starfish is worthy of community support,” said Executive Director Joyce Johnson.

In the application for the award, Starfish explained a recent ethical dilemma the organization faced – whether or not to accept students who are illegal immigrants. After consulting with United Way, local high school and college administrators, the Board of Governors and Scholar Committee decided to make Starfish services available to immigrant students who fit the admission guidelines in every other way.

Starfish Initiative’s mission is to cultivate promising, economically-disadvantaged, high school students into college-educated leaders by providing them with individual mentors, leadership training, and community service opportunities to instill in each student the desire to contribute to his or her community. Today, Starfish Initiative serves nearly 200 high school students in Marion County in more than 30 schools. Each student is matched with a volunteer, adult mentor.

For more information on Starfish Initiative and the Charity of Ethics award, please contact Director of Advancement Bethany K. Warner, 955-7918 or bethany@starfishinitiative.org

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