L'Oréal Paris honoured ten inspirational women at its 12th annual Women of Worth celebration, held in New York on 6 December.
Said to celebrate women who commit their lives to creating positive change in their communities, the honourees each received a $10,000 grant for their organisations, which spanned a wide range of causes.
Karen Fondu, President Emeritus and Chairwoman of L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth, said: "Through the recognition and platform Women of Worth provides, our commitment is to amplify their stories and causes, so that their work will continue to thrive and to profoundly change the course of so many lives."
The ten L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth honourees are:
1. Leanne Huebner
Minds Matter National
Huebner is the co-founder of Minds Matter National, a US-based educational non-profit that provides support to accomplished high school students from low income families and helps prepare them for college.
2. Deborah Jiang-Stein
unPrison Project
Jiang-Stein founded the unPrison Project, an organisation that helps build literacy, mentoring and life skills for women and girls in prison, and their children.
It also helps develop critical thinking skills to plan goals and achieve a successful life after prison.
3. Rana Abdelhamid
International Muslim Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE)
California-based Abdelhamid is the founder of WISE, a movement dedicated to developing self-defense, social entrepreneurship and leadership skills for young Muslim women.
The organisation aims to inspire young Muslims to overcome violence and become ambassadors for female empowerment.
4. Charolette Tidwell
Antioch for Youth & Family
Tidwell founded Antioch Consolidated Association for Youth & Family , which provides food and support to approximately 7,000 homeless people with her food pantry in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
5. Shandra Woworuntu
Mentari
Woworuntu founded Mentari, an empowerment programme for human trafficking survivors, after her own escape from traffickers in 2001.
It provides resources, education and mentoring initiatives to help survivors reintegrate into society.
6. Lulu Cerone
LemonAID Warriors
18-year-old Cerone founded LemonAID Warriors to encourage young people to get involved in social activism.
The organisation helps connect children to the causes that interest them and offers unique action plans and activities to make activism fun.
7. SreyRam Kuy
Dog Tag Bakery
Kuy is the first female Cambodian refugee to work as a surgeon in the US.
She has partnered with Texas-based Dog Tag Bakery to help military veterans, spouses and caregivers in business.
8. Valerie Weisler
The Validation Project
Weisler is the founder of The Validation Project, which works with more than 6,000 teenagers across 105 countries to solve social justice issues.
The project offers teenagers resources and support to help teenagers develop confidence and self-esteem.
9. Theresa Flores
S.O.A.P. Project
Author, advocate and survivor Flores founded S.O.A.P. Project, which stands for "Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution", to raise awareness and provide resources for victims of sex trafficking.
The organisation offers free educational materials and bars of soap in hotels and motels across the US in a bid to reach out to victims of trafficking and encourage them to seek help.
10. Cassandra Lin
Turn Grease Into Fuel
Lin's Turn Grease Into Fuel (TGIF) project collects used cooking oil from houses and restaurants, converts it to biodiesel and distributes the fuel to provide emergency heating assistance for local families in Westerly, Rhode Island.
The sustainable system, developed by Westerly Innovations Network, is said to assist approximately 80 families a year.