PETER SAMUELSON
2000 HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Starlight Children’s Foundation
United States, Global
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 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, a child advocacy program that investigates abuse and neglect. 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 child 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 round table to pursue its proactive agenda to support children who are abused and neglected in the United States.