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New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has been nominated for the inaugural Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award, presented by ESPN and Playstation. The presenting sponsor of the awards, Playstation, will benefit the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund at The V Foundation – a fund that encourages much needed, cutting-edge, research for minority populations suffering from Cancer.
The awards event will celebrate and honor athletes, teams, nonprofits, and various members of the sports industry who have used their position in sports to serve communities and make a positive impact on society. It will be held on Tuesday, July 14 at the Conga Room at L.A. Live, hosted by Laila Ali. This one will be the first of its kind, bringing together the sporting community to pay tribute to all the good that has come from sports.
The inaugural Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award is given to those athletes who have continuously demonstrated leadership and created a positive impact on their community through their career. The honoree will receive a $75,000 grant from ESPN’s Corporate Citizenship department to advance the impact of charity and humanitarian efforts. Three finalists will be awarded a $25,000 grand
As the founder of the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation and an active ambassador for the Garden of Dreams Foundation, Lundqvist has clearly seized the opportunity to positively impact the lives of children in need through education and health services. Aside from touching the lives of thousands of children and families in New York City, the Dominican Republic, and Sweden with personal and financial support, he has provided a platform to the next generation of community leaders for his Young Ambassadors Program.
In addition to the Sports Humanitarian of the Year Award, a Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year award will be given out as well. The event will also celebrate four inaugural “Stuart Scott ENSPIREÂ Award” winners, who are recognized for taking risks and using innovation to help those that are disadvantaged.
The panel of judges that selected the finalists include CEO of Points Light, Tracy Hoover, Sharon Roerty, Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Sab Singh, Founder of Sports Doing Good and professor at Farmingdale State College, and Caryl Stern, CEO of the US Fund for UNICEF.
Anquan Boldin of the San Francisco 49ers, Tamika Catchings of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, and John Cena of World Wrestling Entertainment are also nominated for the prestigious award.
