10.04.2007 - 04:15pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK CITY, NY - October 4, 2007 - On October 12, Grameen Foundation will celebrate two organizations and an individual who have empowered people to lift themselves from poverty through microfinance, a proven poverty-reduction strategy inspired by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The day’s events will climax with an exciting benefit concert.

"This is a celebration of committed, passionate individuals who chose to act against endemic poverty, rather than sit idly by and we are pleased to honor Sam Daley-Harris, ACSI and Grameen Koota for their remarkable efforts to empower the poorest among us," said Alex Counts, president of Grameen Foundation. "We are also delighted to join forces with the exciting young artists at Sing for Hope to ensure that more of Bangladesh's poor children have a chance to escape poverty through education."

The concert will feature renowned musicians and exciting young artists from hit Broadway shows and leading opera companies, who are donating their time and talent for this unique performance benefiting the Grameen Foundation Educational Scholarship Program for children in Bangladesh. The concert is co-sponsored by Sing for Hope, a non-profit organization directed by sopranos Camille Zamora and Dr. Yunus' daughter, Monica Yunus. Dr. Yunus will be the event's keynote speaker.

"Many children are being robbed of an education because their families cannot afford to pay the tuition fees and other expenses," said Monica Yunus. "As a native Bangladeshi, it is especially meaningful to me that Sing for Hope and Grameen Foundation are teaming up to expand opportunities for poor children in Bangladesh."

The evening concert will be preceded by two invitation-only events: a morning Knowledge Sharing Roundtable featuring microfinance experts, and a luncheon honoring this year's award winners where Dr. Yunus will be the keynote speaker.

Excellence Award Honoree, Amhara Credit and Savings Institution (ACSI) is one of the largest microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ethiopia, where an estimated six million people live in poverty. In 12 years, ACSI has grown to 184 branches and expects to serve nearly one million clients by the end of 2007.

Pioneer Award honoree, Grameen Koota of India, works in a region where just under 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. It has grown tremendously since its foundation in 2001, and is the first adopter of Mifos, an innovative, open source technology platform developed by Grameen Foundation's Technology Center.

Winner of the Susan M. Davis Lifetime Achievement Award, Sam Daley-Harris is founder of RESULTS, a preeminent grassroots lobbying organization working to create the political will to end world hunger. In 1997, the RESULTS Educational Fund convened the first ever Microcredit Summit, launching a nine year campaign to reach 100 million of the world's poorest families with credit for self-employment and other financial and business services.

Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of 46 partners in 25 countries that has impacted an estimated 18 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. For more information on Grameen Foundation, please visit www.grameenfoundation.org.

Sing for Hope is a nonprofit that supports artists who create events that benefit humanitarian causes, under the motto, "Uniting Artists, Uniting Communities." Please visit their website at www.singforhope.org.

For further information or to interview spokespersons about these events or the award recipients, visit the online press kit www.grameenfoundation.presskit247.com or contact Michelle Tennant at 828-749-3200.

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