Profile: Helen Pantaleoni – Founder of UNICEF

Helen Tradusa "Helenka" Adamowska-Pantaleoni (November 22, 1900 - January 5, 1987) was an American silent film actress and humanitarian who was the founding director of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, a role that she held for 25 years. Pantaleoni was the daughter of Polish musicians Jozef and Antonina (Antoinette) Adamowski, who with Jozef’s brother Tymoteusz (Timothee) Adamowski made up the Adamowski Trio. Helenka's mother was also the sister of Helena (Helene), the second wife of Polish pianist and diplomat Ignacy Paderewski.

After serving in the fund-raising arm of Polish War Relief, Helenka Pantaleoni helped found the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in 1947, and served as the organization’s president from 1953 until her retirement in 1978. Her service as president of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF was unpaid. The Executive Director of UNICEF, James P. Grant, wrote in 1994:

 “For 26 years, from 1953 through 1978, Helenka Pantaleoni served as volunteer president of the U.S. Committee. While she headed the Committee more than $113 million was turned over to UNICEF in the name of the American people. . .”

Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helenka_Pantaleoni

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Audrey Hepburn – Humanitarian of Goodwill

Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; May 4, 1929 – January 20, 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century. Redefining glamour with "elfin" features and a waif-like figure that inspired designs by Hubert de Givenchy, she was inducted in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame, and ranked by the American Film Institute as the third greatest female screen legend in the history of American cinema.

Devoting much of her later life to UNICEF, Hepburn's war-time struggles inspired her passion for humanitarian work and, although Hepburn had contributed to the organisation since the 1950s, she worked in some of the most profoundly disadvantaged communities of Africa, South America and Asia in the late eighties and early nineties. In 1992, Hepburn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Hepburn

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VIDEO: Audrey Hepburn awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award - WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JREMCiZpgc



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Profile: Princess Diana – Humanitarian of Global Causes

Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances née Spencer; July 1, 1961 – August 31 1997) was a member of the British royal family and an international personality of the late 20th century as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981. The wedding, which was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, was televised and watched by a global audience of over 750 million people. The marriage produced two sons: Princes William and Harry, currently second and third in line to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms, respectively.

A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana was born into an old, aristocratic English family with royal ancestry, and remained the focus of worldwide media scrutiny before, during and after her marriage, which ended in divorce on 28 August 1996. This media attention continued following her death in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997, and in the subsequent display of public mourning a week later. Diana also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

Charity work

Though in 1983 she confided in the then-Premier of Newfoundland, Brian Peckford: "I am finding it very difficult to cope with the pressures of being Princess of Wales, but I am learning to cope," from the mid-1980s, the Princess of Wales became increasingly associated with numerous charities. As Princess of Wales she was expected to visit hospitals, schools, etc., in the 20th-century model of royal patronage. Diana developed an intense interest in serious illnesses and health-related matters outside the purview of traditional royal involvement, including AIDS and leprosy. In addition, the Princess was the patroness of charities and organisations working with the homeless, youth, drug addicts and the elderly. From 1989, she was President of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

During her final year, Diana lent highly visible support to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a campaign that went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 after her death.

READ MORE ABOUT THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF PRINCESS DIANA