The global organization InterAction recognized Heifer International's commitment to gender equity April 19, 2007, with the 13th annual Mildred Robbins Leet Award.
"InterAction salutes Heifer International for its leadership in promoting policy change and demonstrating how to advance women's empowerment," reads the letter announcing the award.
Mildred Robbins Leet's commitment to philanthropy began during World War II when she volunteered as an air-raid warden and nurse's aide. In 1948, she co-founded United Cerebral Palsy and served as the first president of its women's division. Leet was an active member of the Women's Advisory on Poverty in the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity and was later involved in the development of the International Peace Academy. In 1979, Leet and her husband Glen focused their attention on the poorest of the poor with the establishment of Trickle Up, a non-profit international organization designed to provide the conditional seed capital and training necessary to launch a small business. In 2006, Trickle Up helped launch 10,162 businesses in 14 countries.
In recognition of Leet's dedication and contribution to raising awareness of gender issues, InterAction, a group of 168 non-profit U.S.-based international development organizations, created the Mildred Robbins Leet Award in 1995.
This year's Leet Award focuses on "breakthroughs" in women's empowerment in gender equality in the context of alleviating poverty and/or effective development. InterAction salutes Heifer for "exceptional leadership" in the Gender Equity Initiative.
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