Because of his hard work in the philanthropic arena worldwide, Yank Barry has received three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has also received accolades from groups all over, including humanitarian awards from India, Côte D'Ivoire, the Bahamas and Mexico, among others. Most recently, Yank and Yvette Barry received the Childhelp International Achievement Award. It’s no wonder. When you look at Yank Barry’s philanthropic record, it is extremely impressive. The work done by his global hunger initiative, Global Village Champions Foundation, has been enough to draw praise, given that it has provided hungry people worldwide with more than one billion meals since it was established in 1995. And that is just one initiative.
Unlike that of many other philanthropists, Yank Barry’s approach is far more personal in nature. It would be really easy to look over some worthy causes and issue grants or write checks, but Yank doesn’t do that. In point of fact, Yank and his wife Yvette don't just give money and have someone else do all of the hard work; they go in themselves and do a lot of it themselves, on the front lines in the fight against suffering on the part of poor and displaced people all over the world. Yank works closely with NGOs and local agencies to help people, including many in politically unstable areas where few others would bother to go.
For example, over the recent past, Yank Barry has tried to focus his efforts on assisting and possible on helping and saving refugees from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Iran and he has helped thousands of refugees escape the violence and volatility caused by groups as lethal as ISIS, providing them with whatever they need to rebuild their lives, including food, a home, medical supplies and whatever else they need to rebuild their lives and the lives of their families.
