By Steven Feldman
Philadelphia—Olga Murray, founder of the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation, which provides basic necessities to impoverished Nepalese children, on Nov. 16 was honored with the $25,000 grand prize in Mannington’s Stand On A Better World Awards competition.

Established in 2005, the Stand On A Better World Awards recognize women who have made a significant impact in their communities and the world at large. The program is the vision of Ellen Madill, director of marketing, who realized “women are our customers; they are the ones who make the purchasing decisions for products that go into their homes. It made sense for us to marry the Mannington mission of ‘do the right thing’ with a program that recognized women who believe the same thing.”

The awards are given in three categories: social, economic and environmental. Murray also took top billing in the social category. Dana Dakin, who founded WomensTrust (www.womenstrust. org), a grassroots non-profit that helps poor women and their families in Ghana, West Africa, took the $10,000 in the economic category. The environmental category award and another $10,000 prize went to Ritu Primlani, who launched Thimmakka Certified Green Restaurants (www.thimmakka.org), which helps first-generation ethnic business entrepreneurs provide a “green-certified” way for restaurants to do business.

Murray, an 81-year-old retired lawyer from Sausalito, Calif., founded the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation (www. nyof.org) 16 years ago after discovering the poverty and injustice in Nepal during a trip to celebrate her retirement. She decided to help give poor children education, housing, food and medical care. Today, the organization sustains multiple orphanages that provide poor, blind and handicapped children with education and a healthy environment. It also has an Indentured Daughters Program that rescues girls as young as six from bonded servitude; six Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes treating severely malnourished children and mothers; scholarships for 2,700 children, and educational programs to build schools and train teachers in rural areas.

Dakin, from Wilmot, N.H., adopted a village in Ghana and instituted a microlending program for women and girls with entrepreneurial dreams. Womens-Trust provides small, four-month loans of $55 to $222 to groups of four females who hold each other accountable for repayment of the loans. The program now serves close to 500 women.

Primlani’s organization seeks to provide ways for non-English speaking business owners to become environmental role models. The program covers four key areas: solid waste reduction, water conservation, energy conservation and pollution prevention. Today, Primlani’s organization has certified 44 restaurants in the Bay Area.

Tom Davis, president, Mannington, said he hopes the awards program will continue to grow, recognizing and rewarding women making a difference and also inspiring others to do more. “We received more than 500 nominations for the 2006 Stand On A Better World Awards, stories of women across the country who are helping to improve the lives of others in so many inspirational ways,” he said.

“This program means so much to all of us at Mannington,” said Betsy Amoroso, community and public relations manager. “It’s a way for us to extend our mission of ‘do the right thing’ and to honor some incredible women at the same time. This year’s recipients truly touched all of our hearts, and we are proud to recognize their organizations through Stand On A Better World.”