NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 27, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Town&Country magazine and Longines, the Swiss watch company, partnered for a fifth year to celebrate extraordinary women who positively impact children's lives. This year's honorees included Ross Ellis, founder and chief executive officer of Stomp Out Bullying, Roni Lomeli, executive director of Shoes That Fit and Navyn Salem, founder of Edesia.
See video from Longines and Definition 6 at: http://inr.synapticdigital.com/swatchgroup/awardsceremony2013/
The "Longines Women Who Make a Difference" awards dinner was held at Hearst Tower in New York City on September 26, hosted by the watch brand in partnership with tennis legend, philanthropist and Ambassador of Elegance Stefanie Graf and emceed by Emmy Award-winning FOX 5 News anchor Ernie Anastos.
"It's hard to believe that it has been five years since we started honoring women who make a difference in partnership with Longines," said Town&Country Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer Jennifer Levene Bruno. "We have so many readers committing their lives to worthwhile causes and it's a pleasure to be able to honor them in this way."
To be considered for the "Longines Women Who Make a Difference" award, readers were asked to submit either a 200-word essay or a short video detailing why their nominee is a "Woman Who Makes a Difference." The nominees were collected by Town&Country and the three honorees were chosen by a panel of judges from the magazine and Longines.
In addition to the awards ceremony held in their honor, winners received a trip to New York for a professional photo shoot and the opportunity to create awareness for their charity with a special full page feature in Town&Country's February 2013 issue. To complete the winners' elegant look, Longines awarded each woman a watch and made a donation on behalf of each guest to the charity of their choice. Attendees chose among Stomp Out Bullying, Shoes That Fit and Edesia.
"We are honored to present awards to Ross Ellis, Roni Lomeli and Navyn Salem to celebrate and thank them for the important work they do each day," said Jennifer Judkins, U.S. Brand Manager for Longines. "Their commitment to the welfare of children makes them the perfect embodiment of the brand's values and slogan: 'Elegance is an Attitude'."
The 2013 "Longines Women Who Make a Difference" award recipients are:
Ross Ellis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, STOMP OUT BULLYING: This leading national organization, established in 2005, focuses on reducing and preventing bullying, sexting and digital abuse, educating against homophobia, racism and hatred online and in communities across the country. The program is designed to educate kids and teens in school and online about bullying, provide help for those in need and at risk of suicide as well as provide a peer mentoring program.
Ross Ellis is a national expert in violence against children, bullying and cyberbullying prevention, school violence and Internet safety. She has 20 years of experience in the non-profit and corporate sector, and has been a child advocate for over two decades. Under Ms. Ellis' leadership the organization has helped over 8400 students and saved the lives of 101 to date.
Roni Lomeli, Executive Director, SHOES THAT FIT: Founded in 1992, Shoes That Fit is the largest nonprofit provider of new shoes for children in the United States. Shoes That Fit's mission is to provide new shoes to children in need so they can attend school in comfort and with dignity, better prepared to learn and play. Working with low-income schools, who identify the children most in need, Shoes That Fit has provided more than one million pairs of new shoes and other items to children across the U.S. since its founding.
More than 90 percent of all contributions go directly toward helping children in need. Without any government funding, Shoes That Fit has grown from helping children at one school in one state to helping more than 1,600 schools in 42 states across the nation.
Navyn Salem, Founder, EDESIA: Starting in 2007, Navyn Salem embarked on a journey to reduce the alarmingly high rates of childhood malnutrition in developing countries worldwide through innovative manufacturing. After laying the groundwork for a factory in her father's home country of Tanzania, Navyn founded Edesia - named for the Roman goddess of food and plentiful banquets - in Providence, Rhode Island. Edesia is now a leading supplier of fortified peanut-based, ready-to-use foods for USAID, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and other agencies working in emergencies, conflict zones, and disadvantaged communities overseas.
Ready-to-use foods, first invented by the French company Nutriset, have a long shelf life of 24 months, require no cooking or dilution in water prior to use, and can be consumed directly from the foil sachets. Since production began in early 2010, Edesia has reached more than 1.5 million children in 35 countries, including Chad, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Pakistan, and Syria.
About Longines
Longines has been based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, since 1832. It is celebrating 180 years of non-stop craftsmanship in 2012 and its watch making expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. It has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations. Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world's leading manufacturer of horological products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, has outlets in over 130 countries. www.Longines.com
About Town&Country
Town&Country (www.townandcountrymag.com) has chronicled American life since 1846, always putting an emphasis on people of style and accomplishment who give something back to the world, whether in service, philanthropy or creative endeavor. It is edited with a feeling for storytelling, combining the highest level of reporting with the very best photography. Town&Country is also an acute observer of the broader social landscape, documenting notable weddings and parties, chronicling the pastimes and passions of leading figures and families everywhere, and casting an anthropological eye on the lives of the rich and powerful in a way that exposes surprising truths about us all. The magazine is a trusted source of privileged information, taste, elegant living, and unpretentious fun. It is an irreplaceable guide to the very best that the world has to offer. Town&Country Weddings, established in 2003, is published twice a year. In addition to these print properties, Town&Country launched its first mobile app, the Town&Country Luxury City Guide, in 2010. Follow Town&Country on Twitter at @TandCMag.