Deadline Extended to Submit Nominations for Depression Awar...( Winners Can Receive Up to $15000 E...),Health

Winners Can Receive Up to $15,000 Each to Donate to Nonprofit of Their

Choice

NEW YORK, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The deadline to submit nominations for this year's Welcome Back Awards, a national awards program that recognizes heroes in the depression community, has been extended by one month. Nominations are now due by Monday, December 15, 2008.

The Welcome Back Awards is a program established by Eli Lilly and Company to recognize outstanding achievements in the fight against depression and the stigma often associated with the illness.

"We are excited that the Welcome Back Awards is now in its eleventh year," said John Hayes, M.D., vice president of Lilly Research Laboratories and global brand development team leader - neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company. "Lilly is extremely proud to be a part of such a long-standing, worthy tradition."

An independent panel of national mental health experts will select honorees in five categories: lifetime achievement, destigmatization, community service, primary care and psychiatry. Winners will share a total of $55,000, to be donated to the not-for-profit organizations of their choice. Each award recipient and one guest will receive complimentary airfare and accommodations to attend the ceremony in San Francisco, Calif., in May 2009.

Since 1998, the Welcome Back Awards has honored people who have persevered in overcoming depression, helped others to do the same or dedicated endless amounts of time and effort to spreading awareness of the illness.

In May 2008, Henry Acosta was honored with a Welcome Back Award for his work as the executive director of the National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting high-quality mental health services for Hispanics through educational programs, public service announcements, media campaigns and legislation. As a direct result of Acosta's passion for a
'/>"/>