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Home / Awards / Chapmion of Peace Award / 2000 THE CHAMPION OF PEACE AWARD RECIPIENTS 2000 - Sovereign Military Order of Malta-American Association The American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta was approved in 1926 at the request of Pope Pius XI, and installed 28 April 1927, with headquarters in New York City. It was the tenth National Association of the Order, and the first in the Western Hemisphere. By 1999 it had grown to a membership of about 1,900 from all areas of the United States. It holds its annual investiture of new members in January of each year. The Association has participated in the annual Lourdes Pilgrimage for many years. The American Association assists in a number of charitable projects financially and with volunteers. Grants by the Association have totaled well over a million dollars each year for the past several years. Some of the projects include: a center in New York City for mentally ill “street people,” providing meals, clothing and safe haven; also in New York City, a pregnancy testing, counseling and assistance center; in Newark, New Jersey, a mobile medical facility to serve children; in Norwalk, Connecticut, a home for single mothers and their children; in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a free clinic for those unable to pay for medical assistance; in South Bend, Indiana, a similar clinic especially geared for the Hispanic population; in Dunkirk, Maryland, an organization which trains teachers in “natural family planning,” and provides instructional material in 21 languages; in Holly, Michigan, a residential treatment center for the rehabilitation of those with mental illness, especially those with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a medical and dental care facility for those unable to pay for treatment; and in St. Louis, Missouri, a residential care facility for the homeless. The American Association has long been involved in international assistance through close support and participation with AmeriCares, an international disaster relief agency. In addition, the Association is very much involved with the operations and expansion of a 45-bed hospital and nutrition center in northern Haiti: project CRUDEM (Center for the Rural Development of Milot). On the same island, the Association cooperates with the SMOM Association of the Dominican Republic in the Malta Maternal Infant Clinic in Santo Domingo for indigent children and mothers. A team of plastic surgeons volunteers each year to perform corrective surgery for cleft lip and palate, and for burn scars. A similar team goes to Peru. There is a special project in Honduras to assist orphans, and another team of medical volunteers goes there to help in remote areas of the country. A treatment facility and home for orphans with hearing and speech disabilities is funded in Ecuador. The Association has also provided some assistance to the Order’s Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem. In recognition of its outstanding commitment to serving those most in need, and for its steadfast dedication and efforts to uplifting the downtrodden and assisting the vulnerable, the Path to Peace Foundation is pleased to bestow upon the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta the 2000 Champion of Peace Award.
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