Clinton Global Initiative selects Community Renewal to join distinguished group For release: June 10, 2008 The Clinton Global Initiative - a non-partisan, non-political endeavor to tackle the world's most pressing challenges - has invited Community Renewal International Founder and Coordinator Mack McCarter to its fourth Annual Meeting this fall in New York City. The invitation-only event will bring together world leaders, business executives, faith leaders and other innovative thinkers for the Sept. 23-26 meeting. Distinguished participants in last year's meeting ranged from numerous presidents and prime ministers to Tom Brokaw, Anderson Cooper, Angelina Jolie, Desmond Tutu and many others. President Bill Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005 as a non-partisan catalyst for action, bringing together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Members include current and former heads of state, top business executives, preeminent scholars, and representatives of key non-governmental organizations working together for a common cause. President Clinton announced in May that members of the Clinton Global Initiative - including 82 former and current heads of state and 325 CEOs - have made nearly 1,000 "Commitments to Action" to improve over 200 million lives in more than 100 countries. "We've accomplished so much already in just three years - a true testament to what can be achieved when the public and private sectors put ideas into action and bring resources to bear where they are needed most," President Clinton said. McCarter said he expects many wonderful ideas and action plans to come out of the meeting. "We are honored and very excited to be invited to join one of the most effective efforts working today to better the conditions of all people on a global scale. Community Renewal International is proud to be a part of that effort," he said. The program for the 2008 Annual Meeting will concentrate on challenges and opportunities in four focus areas: education, energy & climate change, global health and poverty alleviation. The meeting schedule will include a combination of working sessions for each of the CGI focus areas, as well as several plenary sessions that will address broader issues. These sessions will provide members with an opportunity to interact with experts, collaborate with other members who share common objectives, and ultimately, initiate a commitment to action that best matches their interests and resources. A Shreveport native who pastored churches in West Texas for 18 years, McCarter returned home in 1991 to begin implementing his vision for developing strong, safe, healthy communities through caring relationships. Today, Community Renewal has 39,000 Renewal Team members around the world and more than 900 Haven House leaders who are building a sense of community in their own neighborhoods. The Center for Community Renewal is in development in downtown Shreveport and will serve as a training and resource center to replicate the Community Renewal model worldwide. Community Renewal International is a nonprofit effort to restore safe and healthy communities through caring relationships. Founded in 1994, Community Renewal reaches at-risk youth through Friendship Houses built in impoverished neighborhoods, strengthens education through the Adult Renewal Academy, partners with The Fuller Center for Housing and connects caring partners who turn their neighborhoods into safe havens of friendship and support. Contact: David Westerfield, director of communications
(318) 425-3222
davidwesterfield@sbcr.us |
