Rock wins award from children's charity

courtesy of WWF.com

The Marty Lyons Foundation, which grants "special wishes" for children with life-threatening illnesses, has honored The Rock with the 2001 Children's Award. This is the second prestigious award that the People's Champion has received recently from a children's charity. Late last year, he was named Man of the Year by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Rock meets children before virtually every World Wrestling Federation live event he attends. He is one of the most requested celebrities in the world.

"It's a way of giving back," The Rock says. "To me it's a humbling honor to think that these kids and their families want to spend their time with me -- their very, very precious time with me -- considering the situation that they're in."

Here is an excerpt from the letter sent by The Marty Lyons Foundation to The Rock:

Dear Rock,

Congratulations! On behalf of The Marty Lyons Foundation, it gives me great pleasure to announce that you have been selected as a Recipient of the 2001 Children's Award.The Children's Award is presented to a representative from each of the Metropolitan professional sports teams for their individual contributions to the children of the community. The Children's Award Committee has carefully selected the honorees ...
Created in 1982 by Marty Lyons, the Foundation grants "Special Wishes" to children who have been diagnosed with a chronic life-threatening or terminal illness.

We all believe the Children's Award focuses attention where is really counts -- making a difference in the lives of children.

Again, congratulations on your selection for this prestigious award. ...
Sincerely,

Marty Lyons
Chairman