Century of Compassion is pleased to announce our first annual recipient(s) of the “Outstanding Person of Compassion” award. The award is to be given at the end of each year to someone who “promoted compassion, behaved compassionately and inspired others to follow his or her lead.” The nominees for this year’s award were media mogul Oprah Winfrey, Extreme Makeover Home Edition host Ty Pennington, musician Harry Connick Jr., and co-nominees Presidents George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton for their fundraising efforts for tsunami and hurricane relief. Members of the Century of Compassion email list voted for the winner and the results were nearly too close to call. In the end, one name – or we should say, pair of names – rose to the top.
The recipients of the Outstanding Person of Compassion 2005 award are Presidents George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton. They first came together in January of this year to help raise awareness and funding for recovery in Southeast Asia from last December’s tsunami. Then, in the fall they joined forces again to create the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which raised over $100 million dollars in aid for areas ravaged by hurricane Katrina. Of course, these efforts would have been in vain if not for the compassion of the American people whom they inspired.

Century of Compassion members were impressed with Presidents Bush and Clinton’s willingness to set aside their political differences and come together toward compassionate ends. They currently stand as an example of the positive and transformative power of bipartisanship, and they have forged what we hope will be a lasting partnership. Both will be receiving certificates by mail in the coming weeks and have earned a lasting place of distinction on the Century of Compassion website.