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PHILANTHROPIST KENNETH BEHRING TO BE HONORED AT SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL GALA Wheelchair Foundation Chairman to Receive Humanitarian Partnership Award, Delivers One-Half Million Wheelchairs to Needy Media Contact: Emily Carter, 202.347.8630 ext. 4877, ecarter@sister-cities.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 29, 2006 Washington, D.C. - Kenneth Behring, founder and chairman of the Wheelchair Foundation, will receive the Sister Cities International "Humanitarian Partnership Award" for his involvement in the "Wheelchairs for Peace" initiative with Sister Cities International. The award will be presented at the Sister Cities International 50th Anniversary Conference gala on July 15, 2006 at the National Building Museum. Wheelchairs for Peace is a five-year initiative begun in 2002 and conducted jointly by Sister Cities International and the Wheelchair Foundation. So far, 22 sister city programs have raised $525,000, which is matched dollar for dollar by the Wheelchair Foundation, enabling the delivery or commitment of wheelchairs for sister city communities in Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, China, Ghana, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Turkey. During the 50th Anniversary year in 2006, organizers are raising $150,000 to distribute 2,500 wheelchairs in China and Latin America for the "50 Wheelchairs - 50 Communities" initiative. Currently, more than 100 million people around the world need a wheelchair, but cannot afford to purchase it or do not have access to one. Organizers say that a donation of only $75 can give the gift of mobility. "The Wheelchairs for Peace Program has become a core, humanitarian assistance program for Sister Cities International," commented Matthew Corso, director, of the Sister Cities Network for Sustainable Development, "It is a real honor and pleasure to work with Ken Behring and the Wheelchair Foundation, to help achieve Behring's vision and share in his commitment to give the gift of mobility worldwide." Since Behring founded the Wheelchair Foundation in 2000, more than 500,000 wheelchairs have been delivered to disabled citizens across the globe. Behring has made it his personal mission to help those in need by donating food, medical supplies, clothing, toys, and educational materials to those in the most impoverished nations. Behring founded the Blackhawk Museum and the Behring-Hoffman Educational Institute in Blackhawk, Calif. In 1997, Behring pledged $20 million to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and later pledged $80 million to rebuild the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. He is also the recipient of the Smithsonian's prestigious James Smithson Award. Behring owned the Seattle Seahawks football team for 9 years and, in 2002, was awarded an honorary doctorate from Brigham Young University for his charitable efforts. The Wheelchair Foundation is based in Danville, Calif. Representing more than 2,500 communities in 134 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs. ###
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