NEW YORK: Ishan Mandani, an 11-year old Pre IB student at Safety Harbor Middle, in Tampa, Florida, has been awarded the "Youth Activism Award" by National Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The 6th grader, who has been actively involved with the non-profit Hospice since he was 9, was the only child from the US to be bestowed this award.Ishan was awarded the Gift in the presence of Keith Ellison, Congressman from Minnesota's 5th Congressional district and Nihad Awad, Executive Director of National CAIR at Washington DC, in recognition of his caring, nurturing and being generous with his savings to help the needy and sick, especially the terminally ill residents. Ishan has been donating his savings in charity for the past few years. Only last month, Ishan spent his savings of $876 to buy blankets, pillows, lotions etc. for all the Hospice residents

. The Hospice recognized his services by adding his name to the donor tree in their Head office. Two years in a row, Ishan has been the recipient of the Presidential Service Award for volunteering more than 100 hours a year.

He is actively involved with the seniors program of Friend to Friend at Mease Hospital, where he visits homes of old, sick, immobile seniors to help them with their grocery and medication shopping. He has also had the opportunity to attend summer camps at Le Rosey in Switzerland and John Hopkins University in Boston. Ishan's parents Nuruddin and Nisha Mandani are natives of South India. His older sibling Irfan Mandani, is a student at University of Florida in Gainesville.

Ishan has been fortunate to travel around the world, including special visits to Africa, China, India, Europe, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, which his mother says, has broadened his vision of caring for humanity at large.