INDIANAPOLIS (October 2, 2017) — International Medical Group® (IMG®), an award-winning international medical and travel insurance company, is pleased to announce Friends Without A Border and New Life Children’s Home (NLCH) as the winners of its first annual “Leave Your Mark” essay contest.

Both organizations will receive $5,000 to put toward their global outreach efforts.

“We are continually impressed and inspired by the work mission organizations do to serve communities across the globe,” said IMG President & CEO Brian Barwick. “I am proud to award the winners of our Leave Your Mark contest $5,000 to continue their admirable efforts. Their actions speak volumes, and we are confident that the prizes will go toward developing sustainable programs that will impact the health and lives of children long into the future.”

Friends Without A Border was founded in 1996 with a mission to provide compassionate medical care to children in Southeast Asia. NLCH was founded in 1976 in Guatemala to help orphaned, abandoned and abused children find refuge.

To enter IMG’s Leave Your Mark contest, the organizations submitted 500-word essays that answered the question: If your organization were to win, what would be your human impact?

In its essay, Friends Without A Border detailed how it would use the $5,000 prize:

“In Laos, where one out of 15 children do not reach their first birthday and almost half suffer from stunted growth, a prize of $5,000 from International Medical Group could help us:

• Cover the cost of 300-400 outpatient visits, including pharmacy prescriptions;
• Adopt our operating theater for a full month, covering over 50 life-saving surgeries;
• Sponsor one of our local junior nurses for a year, providing salary and ongoing training; or
• Provide breastfeeding and nutrition support for up to 250 new mothers and their children at our neonatal unit.”

NLCH explained in its essay that the $5,000 prize would help in three ways:

“First, it will allow the expansion of our Trauma Competent Care training for teachers at the school and our home staff. Specialized training helps equip caregivers and teachers to guide children from hard places toward healing and success. Second, it will help fund an additional psychologist to help children overcome the pain and trauma they have experienced. Finally, it will help fund efforts to place children in healthy homes through a family reunification program and a foster family program.”

The organizations’ essays were judged by third-party representatives, including Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy Chief Operating Officer Marilyn H. Kuhn; Eskenazi Health Foundation President and CEO Ernest Vargo; and Irvington Community Schools, Inc. Community Engagement Specialist Tammi L. Hughes.

Each judge scored the Leave Your Mark essays on a 100-point scale, allowing a maximum of 25 points for content (relevance of topic), passion (interest in helping others), human impact (social good for community) and completeness (level of detail).

“I am very impressed with the organizations IMG supports. They are all doing amazing things,” Kuhn said. “What a delight to read about the good they are doing in the world. It offsets the often negative stories we usually hear in the media. These organizations are not seeking attention; they are seeking to serve others.”

IMG has been insuring mission and social good organizations for more than 25 years, providing key benefits and support for thousands of members each year who travel or live internationally to serve others. The company launched its Leave Your Mark essay contest on June 1, 2017, as a way to give back to these organizations.