"Entrepreneurial philanthropy is a vastly underrated field of volunteer activity. The World of Children Awards were a very welcome basket of kudos which validated my previous activities and propelled me forward to future challenges with determination and gusto."

A successful production executive working in the entertainment industry, Peter Samuelson began his career in child advocacy by fulfilling a sick child's wish to visit Disneyland. From this experience and the desire to help others, Samuelson formed the Starlight-Starbright Children's Foundation - an international children's charity dedicated to granting the wishes of sick children and providing them with distractive and educational services and software. Samuelson is also the founder of The First Star Public Policy Initiative. Samuelson's programs have continued to grow since the time he was an Honoree. They now serve more than 150,000 children each month from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The programs use advocacy, education, networking and entertainment to bring special children empowerment, hope and courage. With Reps. Loretta Sanchez and JoAnn Emerson as its co-chairs, First Star has organized a congressional roundtable to pursue its proactive agenda to support children who are abused and neglected in the United States. With the Pasadena Art Center College of Design, Samuelson recently created the EDAR project, Everyone Deserves a Roof. He is hoping this program will have a positive impact for the homeless. For more information, please visit www.slsb.org and www.firststar.org.

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