On Saturday, Oct. 22, Buckner International President and CEO Dr. Albert Reyes was one of 10 people to receive a UN Day Global Leadership Award from the Dallas Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA. On Monday, the United Nations celebrated United Nations Day, marking the 77th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations on Oct. 24, 1945.
 
Reyes’ leadership award was in the category of No Poverty, one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. According to GlobalGoals.org, “Eradicating poverty is not a task of charity, it’s an act of justice and the key to unlocking an enormous human potential.”

Empowering vulnerable families

In his acceptance speech played during the virtual award ceremony, Reyes said, “Poverty is one of the leading causes of child neglect, and neglect is the leading cause of children being removed from their families.” 
 
Elevating families out of poverty helps achieve the Buckner mission of serving vulnerable children.
 
Reyes explained how preservation programs like the Buckner Family Hope Center™ are proactive, upstream services that strengthen families and empower them through a holistic approach addressing factors like poverty. 
 
“We found success in this model in Dallas, across Texas, and internationally,” he shared. “Each person and each family experiences poverty differently. We walk alongside families to engage, equip and elevate them to break the poverty cycle.”

A holistic approach to addressing food vulnerability and other global challenges

Other award recipients included leaders with Children’s Hunger Fund, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Grow North Texas, University of Texas at Arlington Office of Sustainability and more.
 
The theme for UN Day 2022 was “Nourishing Peace,” which addressed how food security and peace are intertwined on an international scale.
 
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, recognizes that peace and food security are prerequisites for achieving sustainable development and that sustainable development provides the pathway to peaceful societies,” said Avalyn Pace, president of UNA-USA Dallas.
 
As stated in a news release issued by the UNA-USA’s Dallas Chapter, “UN Day award nominations were submitted by individuals across North Texas, honoring projects that respond to imminent global challenges such as climate change, migration, rising inequity and the pandemic.”
 
Earlier in the year, Reyes was recognized with an award for Leadership Excellence in the mega nonprofit category at the 2022 D CEO's Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards in Dallas.