On Saturday, March 26, the 2011 Women and Engaged Buddhism Award will be presented at the annual Buddhist Women’s Conference in Chicago. This year’s award will be presented to Venerable Pannavati-Karuna to support the work of My Place, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a positive youth development program for homeless and at-risk youth that heals the whole person.
The conference website says that “Ven. Pannavati founded My Place two years ago at the Embracing Simplicity Buddhist Hermitage in Hendersonville, NC. Since that time more than 60 homeless youth have stayed in the home environment of a residential, transitional housing program. They receive training in self-responsibility, positive self-expression, the arts, meditation, educational/career training/work readiness, interaction with adult mentors and referral for crisis intervention.”
The award is presented by The Buddhist Council of the Midwest, and its purpose is to “recognize and encourage initiatives in Engaged Buddhism by women. It is intended to nurture young or little known projects that are underway at the time of the application. This year’s award carries with it a guaranteed monetary grant of $1,000.”
