Hillier Ignite Presents its 2013 Youth Award to Virginia Beach’s ORPHANetwork

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Jan. 2, 2014 - PRLog -- Hillier Ignite, an organization dedicated to promoting democracy and freedom by creating economic opportunity, announced that ORPHANetwork of Virginia Beach, Virginia received the 2013 Ignite Youth Award based on its outstanding work with orphaned and vulnerable children in Nicaragua.

The Ignite award annually recognizes and rewards outstanding achievements tied to each of Hillier Ignite’s core focus areas: entrepreneurs/innovation, youth, and active duty military and their families. The Ignite Youth Award recognizes a person or organization that has taught and inspired disadvantaged youth, and includes an unrestricted grant of $25,000.

The inaugural Hillier Ignite Youth Award was presented to ORPHANetwork, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating better standards for orphan care in developing countries, particularly in the country of Nicaragua, the poorest Spanish speaking country in the world. In 2013 alone, ORPHANetwork impacted the standards of living for over 15,000 children and worked with 118 Local Church Initiatives. In addition to the $25,000 unrestricted grant for the Hillier Ignite Youth Award, Hillier Ignite provided an additional grant of $75,000 to ORPHANetwork to further support its work in the upcoming year.

“I have seen with my own eyes the dreams and desire of the children cared for by ORPHANetwork, and the second chance in life that is being provided,” said Luke Hillier, Founder and President of Hillier Ignite.  “In addition to helping to provide for their basic needs we are particularly gratified by the work we are doing with ORPHANetwork to provide core job skills and information that will ease their transition to a productive, independent life and the economic freedom afforded by a good, forward looking job.”

“We have dedicated our mission to these abandoned and orphaned children, seeing that they receive both personal care and encouragement toward opportunity,” said Dick Anderson, Executive Director of ORPHANetwork. “In a country where 1 in 3 children suffer from a degree of malnutrition and on average complete fewer than 5 years of schooling, we are changing the future of Nicaraguan children. We are honored by this designation from Hillier Ignite, an important partner that is dedicated to the enormous potential of youth.”

In July of this year, Luke Hillier presented the Ignite Warrior for Warriors Award to the Travis Manion Foundation and the Ignite Lifesaving Innovation Award to the Infrascanner 2000.  The Ignite Lifesaving Innovation Award recognizes the company responsible for creating and introducing a product that Hillier Ignite has judged to be the year’s most significant lifesaving innovation and the Ignite Warrior for Warriors Award recognizes a person or organization that has provided significant support to veterans in overcoming the challenges related to the transition to civilian life or the challenges faced by military families.

About ORPHANetwork
ORPHANetwork is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on helping orphaned and abandoned children reach their full potential. The non-profit is partnered with six orphanages across the country of Nicaragua to better the standards of orphan care and education.  ORPHANetwork also partners directly with 27 local Nicaraguan churches to create opportunities for new life by improving health and education standards for over 4,500 vulnerable and at-risk children. Individuals, churches, businesses and non-profits around the United States, particularly in Virginia, connect with ORPHANetwork to support the organization’s efforts to strategically impact the lives of these Nicaraguan children. For more information please visit www.orphanetwork.org.

About Hillier Ignite
 Opportunity. Democracy. Freedom. Hillier Ignite is an organization dedicated to promoting democracy and freedom by creating economic opportunity. Focusing on groups pivotal to our future success as a society – entrepreneurs, youth, and active duty military, veterans, and their families, Ignite initiatives support, encourage, educate and nurture to create economic opportunities through the development of successful new businesses, good jobs, and a qualified workforce that contribute to a strong democracy. Ignite also serves to tell their stories, provide inspiration and motivate others to lend a hand. For more information please visit www.hillierignite.org.