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Educational Organization Global Kids To Honor Leslie H. Gelb

New York, NY, October 16, 2006 – Global Kids, Inc., the foremost nonprofit in New York City specifically dedicated to educating students in underserved communities about international affairs, will honor Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus and Board Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, for his accomplishments in international affairs and commitment to education and young people (a full bio is below).

The benefit will be held October 18, 2006, from 6pm to 9pm, at the Park Café at One Time Warner Center in New York. A brief presentation will take place at 7pm and will include remarks by Peter G. Peterson, Chairman of The Blackstone Group and Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign relations, as well as a performance by New York City public high school students in Global Kids' programs. Honoree Leslie H. Gelb and Global Kids’ Founder and Executive Director Carole Artigiani will also speak.

The event is being co-chaired by Stanley S. and Suzanne Arkin, Richard I. Beattie, Stephen Friedman, Michael Froman, J. Tomilson Hill, Amb. Richard Holbrooke and Kati Marton, Robert Katz, Vincent A. Mai, Ken Miller and Lybess Sweezy, Toby S. Myerson, Lester Pollack, Peter G. Peterson, Richard Plepler, Steven Rattner and Maureen White, David J. Stern, John C. Whitehead, Amb. Frank Wisner, William Zabel, and Ezra Zilkha.

During the past year, Global Kids reached over 13,000 urban teens, primarily from underserved communities, and conducted programs in 25 New York City public schools.  The organization also launched a summer institute and a range of programs with the Council; opened one of New York City’s leading small high schools; conducted its 15th Annual Youth Conference (this year on Globalization and Media); and received prestigious grants from Microsoft and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Global Kids has strong, collaborative relationships with the Council on Foreign Relations, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, New School University, the New York City Department of Education and many others

All proceeds from the event directly support Global Kids’ programs. The cost of individual tickets is $250. Anyone interested in attending, making a donation, or receiving further information about Global Kids should contact Elisa Germano at (212) 226-0130 or e-mail elisa@globalkids.org.

Past honorees have included Debra Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Black Entertainment Television; MTV CEO Judy McGrath; former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Richard Holbrooke; former advisor to President John F. Kennedy Theodore Sorensen; the author Kati Marton; political commentator George Stephanopoulos; the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon; and the late ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings.

About Global Kids, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Global Kids' mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civic life and the democratic process. Through professional development initiatives, Global Kids provides educators with strategies for integrating experiential learning methods and international issues into urban classrooms. Over 95% percent of the high school seniors who participate in GK's leadership program graduate from high school.

About Global Kids’ 2006 Honoree
Leslie H. Gelb
One of the leading figures in the foreign affairs arena over the past five decades, Leslie H. Gelb has held distinguished positions and received numerous awards as a journalist, policymaker and expert. Mr. Gelb served as Council on Foreign Relations President from 1993 to 2003. He has served as a columnist and op-ed page editor at the New York Times, Assistant United States Secretary of State for political/military affairs, and Director of policy planning and arms control for international security affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense. In addition, Mr. Gelb has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism and the APSA Woodrow Wilson Award for the best book on international relations, as well as the highest awards from the U.S. State and Defense Departments. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

For over a decade, Mr. Gelb has provided many opportunities for the young people in Global Kids programs to participate in Council on Foreign Relations activities. Today, these programs-which continue with the support of Mr. Gelb's successor Richard Haass-include an ongoing series of roundtables on key foreign policy issues, career programs, and a summer institute focusing on the role of the United States in the world.