Robin Roberts to receive DVF Award
Fashion designer and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg is an inspirational force herself to countless women across the world.
Designer and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg, an inspiration to young women around the world, created the DVF Awards in 2010 to celebrate women with courage, who possess "the power to survive and the leadership to inspire."
In a statement released by the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation on Monday, the designer announced that the recipients of this year's DVF Awards include Good Morning America host Robin Roberts and model Natalia Vodianova. Von Furstenberg shared why she chose Roberts in a blog post for ABC News:
As a tribute to my own mother's struggle as a Holocaust survivor, I wanted to shine a light on the strength inherent in all women. But even as I wrote those words, even as I envisioned that ideal, never could I have imagined that a woman would come along who so purely and gracefully embodies those three principles.
The courage to fight. The power to survive. The leadership to inspire.
The public participated in an online voting system with the criteria of propelling women who use "vision, resources and commitment" to bring forth positive changes in the world. Roberts, who battled breast cancer in 2006 and a rare blood disorder this past year, returned to co-anchor the ABC morning show in February after she took time off to receive a bone marrow transplant. Von Furstenberg commends Roberts for her continual display of strength - a characteristic the show host maintained through her health issues and upon her return to GMA. The designer writes:
Just as my mother taught me that fear is not an option, Robin Robert's mother taught her, "Make your mess your message." These words gave her the courage to share her story and her struggle. Strong women beget strong women.
That is why it is so important to honor other women, to encourage, to simply stand in awe.
Each DVF award winner will receive $50,000 for her cause.