Project HOPE Honors Changemakers at Drivers of HOPE Event 

From June 8-9, 2025, Project HOPE hosted its inaugural Drivers of HOPE event in the greater DC area, bringing together our supporters and partners for a celebratory awards dinner and charity golf tournament aimed at raising funds to fuel our health and humanitarian programs around the globe.  

The event kicked off on the evening of Sunday, June 8, 2025, with an awards dinner to honor individuals and organizations whose contributions have fueled Project HOPE’s mission, including BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), SAMU First Response, Merck, and the Elsa and Peter Soderberg Charitable Foundation.  

“We created Drivers of HOPE to celebrate the people and partners who make our lifesaving work possible,” said Rabih Torbay, President and CEO of Project HOPE. “Whether it’s rebuilding hospitals in Ukraine, sending emergency responders to areas hit by hurricanes, training midwives in Sierra Leone, or providing care to displaced families in Colombia, our supporters are the driving force behind every life changed.” 

The 2025 Drivers of HOPE Awardees: 

• Volunteer of the Year Award | BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company): Recognized for their decades-long commitment to improving health systems through global volunteerism and perinatal care training in places like North Macedonia and Kosovo, which has supported more than 1,600 health workers in the past two years. 

• Global Health Partner Award | SAMU First Response: Honored for their critical deployments alongside Project HOPE in emergency responses ranging from hurricanes in Central America and the U.S. to earthquake relief in Türkiye and Morocco. 

• Global Health Leadership Award | Merck: Celebrated as Project HOPE’s longest-standing corporate partner, contributing over $500 million in support since 1960. Most recently, Merck helped launch the Europe, Middle East, and Africa Emergency Response Network and Global Drawdown Fund to sustain health care access during emergencies. 

• Richard T. Clark Lifetime Achievement Award | Elsa and Peter Soderberg Charitable Foundation: Awarded for their extraordinary philanthropic impact supporting programs in Ethiopia, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, and Lebanon, and for their steadfast commitment to expanding access to health care for underserved communities. 

The following day, Project HOPE hosted its inaugural charity golf tournament, which featured 17 teams of golfers – made up of board members, staff, and supporters – competing for prizes. Across the dinner and golf event, Project HOPE raised over $775,000 in donations to support Project HOPE’s ability to deliver essential health services and build resilient health systems around the world.  

“Drivers of HOPE was a celebration of community, compassion, the power of partnership, and the impact we can have when we all work together,” said Project HOPE’s Board Chair, Reynold Mooney. “Every guest, every bid, every round of golf will help save lives. In today’s world, what HOPE does is more vital than ever. We plan to make this an annual event, enlisting as many people as we can in HOPE’s health care mission.”    

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