During the Dalai Lama's most recent visit to Vancouver he personally presented 2014 Dalai Lama Humanitarian Awards to three individuals - Frank Giustra, Djavad Mowafaghian and John Volken - all prominent businessmen and philanthropists with ties to the North Shore.
The Vancouver-based Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education established the awards to recognize those devoted to philanthropy and humanitarian causes.
"Honourees are chosen based on their innovative approaches, and on lasting social change and sustainability of their work," a press release from the centre states.
Giustra is a West Vancouver resident who found success in the film and mining businesses. He founded Lions Gate Entertainment, is a director and investor in Thunderbird Films, and has built natural resource companies. He also supports a number of local and international charities.
He has contributed $30 million to the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative and has pledged $100 million to help under-served communities work themselves out of poverty through the Clinton/Giustra Enterprise Partnership.
Djavad Mowafaghian was brought up by his mother after losing his father at age one. He went on to establish one of Iran's largest general contracting companies of the 1970s, which constructed hospitals, factories, housing developments and roads. He built 26 schools in Iran, educating more than 22,000 students every year. He has contributed more than $120 million to the North Vancouver-based Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation and has donated some $50 million to 20 local charities.
John Volken, formerly of West Vancouver, is the founder of United Furniture Warehouse, but sold his business to become a full-time social entrepreneur. He transferred the proceeds and assets of the business into charitable foundations in Canada and the U.S., at a combined value of more than $150 million. He founded Lift the Children to help destitute children in Africa and currently supports 80 orphanages. He also founded the John Volken Academy in Surrey, a long-term residential drug and alcohol addiction treatment centre.
The Humanitarian Awards were handed out at a luncheon in October.
