In 2011, 14 non-professional caregivers from around the world were recognized in the first ever Shire BRAVE Awards. These individuals are truly inspiring, consistently giving their time, support and compassion to care for those in need. I was touched by the selfless stories of these individuals, who often have health challenges of their own, but choose instead to focus on helping others.
BRAVE is not just an awards program. It reflects the culture at Shire, where we encourage our employees to be “as brave as the people we help.” While the selection process was intricate – we received nearly 400 nominations from seven countries in this first year of the program – the finalists were ultimately selected based on the qualities that define Shire's BRAVE culture: respect, courage, dedication, impact and patience. Shire's nearly 5,000 employees from across the world, as well as an outside caregiving expert, helped to select the recipients and distinguished honorees from the pool of eligible finalists.
While the recipients come from many different geographies and backgrounds, they are bound by their dedication and courage in caring for others, from looking after four handicapped children to becoming an integral part of a son's medical team. We at Shire are honored to recognize these individuals who play such an important role in enabling people to lead better lives.
As part of our effort to make a real difference in the recipients' lives, Shire chose to recognize the selected caregivers with $10,000 for each of the 10 Recipients and $2,500 for the four Distinguished Honorees, awarding a total of $110,000.
We look forward to continuing the program in 2012 and the nomination process for this year's BRAVE Awards is expected to open in late March. To find out more about the Awards program, or to nominate a caregiver once the application process is open, please visit www.ShireBRAVEAwards.com. All Shire employees join me in celebrating the contributions of caregivers!
Angus Russell is the CEO of Shire, a biopharmaceutical company.