Helmut Kutin, President of SOS Children’s Villages, accepted the Save the World Award at an internationally televised gala on July 24th in Vienna, Austria. 

Greenpeace and Carl Lewis also received the 2009 award.  Michael Jackson was awarded the honor posthumously and a tribute was performed by his brother, Jermaine Jackson. 

Co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Mikhail Gorbachev, this prestigious body gives annual awards to those “organizations and people who promote human welfare or devote themselves to the conservation of the planet.”

Oprah Winfrey: previous Save the World Award winner.  (Photo: World Awards Media) SOS joined past prestigious World Award winners Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Steven Spielberg, Richard Branson, and Michael Douglas. The gala was attended by international celebrities from the world of politics, economics, culture, and society and broadcast in over 50 countries.  The production was hosted by actress, Andie McDowell.

SOS has 500 Children’s Villages in 132 countries and is celebrating its 60th Anniversary.  SOS provides families to over 80,000 orphaned or abandoned children and reaches out to over 1 million others through education, medical care and the prevention of child abandonment.  SOS operates in the most impoverished areas of the world. 

International SOS President , Helmut Kutin, states that “this prestigious award drives us on to continue building a society in which children are treated well, enabling them to have a safe and secure upbringing, in a respectful and loving environment with others.”

The American office of SOS is headquartered in Washington D.C.  As a part of this large international network, SOS has three villages in the U.S. providing an alternative family-based model of foster care.  “Our American supporters will be very proud of this honor,” says Heather Paul, CEO.  “They too share in this commitment to providing every child a right to a loving home, family and a future.”