Val-Kill honoring #MeToo founder

Tarana Burke, who created the #MeToo movement, is among the 2018 recipients of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal.

The medals — awarded annually by The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, a nonprofit educational organization in Hyde Park — honor individuals and organizations who reflect Eleanor Roosevelt’s desire to build a better world through humanitarian and human rights efforts.

In addition to Burke, who was among Time magazine’s Persons of the Year for 2017, also to be honored are: Pamela R. Edington, president of Dutchess Community College; Jaha Dukureh, founder of Safe Hands for Girls and a 2018 Nobel Peace Prize nominee; Roberta (Robbie) Kaplan, a civil rights activist and founding partner of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP; Albert M. Rosenblatt, a former judge on New York state’s highest court; and Loung Ung, author and screen writer of “First They Killed My Father.”

The medals will be presented at a luncheon scheduled for Oct. 14 at the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

In announcing the medal winners, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill said each recipient had mirrored Roosevelt’s life’s work by “making significant contributions to further social justice, education, public service and human rights.”

The event is open to the public. To purchase a ticket or for sponsorship opportunities, go to www.ervk.org/ events or call the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill at (845) 229-5302.

For more information about the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal or to view a list of past medal recipients, go to bit.ly/2OwuACU.