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Utah Youth Village to Honor Dinesh Patel, Ph.D. with 2010 Helping Hand Award

"We are honored to present the 2010 Helping Hand award to a true community builder with a tremendous heart," said Gary Crocker, chairman of the board for Utah Youth Village and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and president of Crocker Ventures. "Dinesh exemplifies concern for those around him, and his actions continually demonstrate his commitment to improving the lives of Utah's most disadvantaged children."

A Utah transplant born and raised in Zambia, Patel is considered to be a father of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals in the Rocky Mountain region. He was co-founder, CEO and chairman of TheraTech, one of Utah's most significant biotechnology companies. He founded and led Ashni Naturaceuticals, co-founded Salus Therapeutics and holds 15 U.S. patents and foreign counterparts. A prolific public servant, Patel was chair of Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.'s transition team, and currently serves as chair of the governing authority board for the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. Dinesh and Kalpana Patel have been supporters of the Utah Youth Village for over 16 years. In doing so, he has shown his concern and compassion for Utah's neglected and abused children in addition to his support of impoverished children in India and Africa.

"With Dinesh as the recipient, the Helping Hand Award is given to honor a friend of children worldwide," said Erik Bjorklund, president of Utah Youth Village. "It is our hope that people throughout our state and nation will be inspired to emulate his example of service to those less fortunate than themselves."

Utah Youth Village is a leading private non-profit provider of residential treatment for at-risk children. Many of these children are wards of the state, have been victims of physical or sexual abuse, are far behind in school and struggle with basic life skills. By employing an effective, proven Teaching-Family Model that teaches children how normal, supportive families operate, Utah Youth Village is able to instill trust, respect and empathy in children who are not able to benefit from typical foster homes, psychiatric hospitals or wilderness programs.

The program provides shelter and a variety of treatments for more than 300 children annually, in 10 Group Homes and 50 Treatment Foster Homes throughout Utah. Utah Youth Village also reaches out to the community through its unique Families First in-home program for families with troubled children, and through a variety of Parenting for Success classes for the general public. The program positively impacts more than 3,000 lives annually through its national outreach.

The Helping Hand Gala will be held Wednesday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. at Little America Hotel. For more information about the gala or to purchase tickets call 801-272-9980 or visit www.youthvillage.org.

Utah Youth Village Public Relations
Jacob Moon, 801-461-9797
jacob@methodcommunications.com