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CHILD’S FOURTH ANNUALCHILDREN’S CHAMPION AWARDS

Bob and Suzanne Wright✦HONORED FOR: Founding Autism Speaks, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising public awareness of autism,assisting families, and marshaling resources for research. In its first year alone, the organization raised $40 million.✦HOW AND WHY THEY GOT STARTED: In 2004, when their grandson, Christian, was diagnosed with autism at age2, the Wrights were shocked to find that despite the prevalence of the disorder—it affects one in 150 children, accord-ing to the latest research—there was little understanding of autism in the medical community. “It wasn't clear whatcauses autism and there was no agreement on therapies," says Bob, the former chairman and CEO of NBC Universal.To make matters worse, many families were living under a veil of secrecy. The Wrights, who had the resources to getthe best possible care for their grandson, could have also kept it a private matter. But in their hearts they felt that goingpublic with their family’s story would benefit others. Says Suzanne, "People were saying, 'I don't want my child to knowhe has autism; I don't want others to know.’ We wanted to get autism into the national vocabulary.”✦THEIR BIGGEST HURDLE: Staying strong despite the emotional demands of speaking out on behalf of childrenwith autism. “It kills you to see a child slipping away, and it's heartbreaking to hear the families’ stories,” saysSuzanne, who, with her husband, travels around the country, making speeches and raising money. “Our challengeis to stay focused on getting the word out there and making sure every child has access to interventions."✦THEIR GREATEST TRIUMPH: The ratification, in December 2006, of the Combating Autism Act, a law thatincreases federal support for autism research, treatment, and education. "Autism Speaks was involved in a lot oflobby support for this legislation," says Bob. "We were able to bring together many organizations on this issue."✦THE NEXT STEP Getting grandparents involved in the fight against autism. “Grandparents have a difficult time withthis because they’re grieving for both their children and their grandchildren,” says Suzanne. "But grandparents canprovide invaluable support and be a big part of these children’s lives, so they need to be galvanized.”

They come from diverse backgrounds—advocacy, the arts, education, medicine, and philanthropy—but the six remarkable individuals we honor here and at our awards ceremony on May 9 in New YorkCity have much in common: All are working to improve the lives of the next generation through their

passion, dedication, and inspiring refusal to accept the status quo. By Erin Quinlan

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Jacques d’Amboise✦HONORED FOR: Fostering a sense of achievement and self-esteem in schoolchildren through the power of dance.In 1976, while a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, d’Amboise founded the National Dance Institute(NDI), an organization that has touched the lives of nearly 2 million kids through free in-school dance classes and per-formances. NDI, which works with New York City-area partner schools and trains teaching artists from around thecountry, is internationally recognized as a model for integrating arts education into everyday learning.✦HOW AND WHY HE GOT STARTED: D'Amboise, who grew up in a rough section of New York City, startedattending his sister’s dance classes at age 7 because his mother wanted to keep him off the streets. Recognizing histalent, the young boy’s teacher referred him, at age 8, to George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet; by thetime he was 15, d’Amboise was a professional dancer. After returning to his old neighborhood following aEuropean tour, d’Amboise realized how dramatically dance had shaped him. "There were no big ambitions ordreams in my community," he says. "It seemed like such a small world, a world without sunlight." Then he had anidea: Maybe dance could help others too. Says d'Amboise, "I went to city schools and asked, 'Would anybody likefree dance lessons?' The condition was that the dance classes had to be part of the regular curriculum. In everyplace of learning, arts should be as important as math and social studies—not relegated to something you do in thecorner after school." D’Amboise paid the costs himself until he learned he could form a nonprofit organization. ✦HIS GREATEST REWARD: Witnessing the transformation of a child. D’Amboise recalls one fourth-grader whoseemed a lost cause; the boy was disengaged and refused to interact with his classmates. D'Amboise coaxed him into joining a few dance exercises, then returned a year later to find the boy still in the program. "There he was, danc-ing like a dream," he says. "He was talking; his grades had rebounded. We had given him an opportunity to excel atsomething, and because of his success in a little dance class he was no longer afraid to take a chance on life."✦IN THE WORKS: Last year, NDI adopted the Senegalese village of Potou and is raising money through charitydrives at its partner schools to fight poverty, malnutrition, and disease in the region. "It goes back to our belief thatkids should not have to struggle," says d'Amboise. "It's about the promise of hope for children everywhere." ➤

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Jessica Seinfeld✦HONORED FOR: Providing New York City’s disadvantaged families with new and gently used childcare essentials.Seinfeld is the founder of Baby Buggy, a model pickup and delivery service, that distributes baby gear, donated byindividuals as well as companies, to families who need it most. Since its 2001 inception, Baby Buggy has distributedmore than 2 million items to thousands of families. Says Seinfeld, “It’s my attempt to respond to both the greatneed for safe baby equipment and the desire of many New Yorkers who want to help—but don’t know how.” ✦HOW AND WHY SHE GOT STARTED: After the birth of her daughter, Sascha, in 2000, Seinfeld (who now hasthree children with husband Jerry Seinfeld) was struck by how quickly her baby outgrew her clothing and gear. "Itseemed so wasteful," says Seinfeld. "And other parents I talked to felt the same way. But as a new parent, who hasthe time and resources to distribute unwanted baby items to those in need? I could barely leave the house in onepiece during my first months of motherhood!" A donation service, she decided, would be the perfect solution. ✦HER GREATEST TRIUMPH: In 2005, in response to reports of increasing cases of SIDS in New York City, Seinfeldintroduced a Crib Drive to ensure infants were sleeping safely. "Baby Buggy was a very lean operation, and wewondered if crisis intervention was something we should tackle," she says. "But baby equipment that meets all safe-ty mandates can stem a tragic loss of life, so we knew we had to support this initiative." With the help of hospitalsin high-risk communities, Baby Buggy distributed thousands of cribs and bassinettes.✦HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE: "As with any nonprofit, fundraising and donations are our lifeblood," says Seinfeld."But some people assume that because of my husband's success we don't need the money. It helps to have JerrySeinfeld headlining your comedy benefit, but it's the public support of our mission that enables us to thrive."✦WHAT INSPIRES HER: "We see how important our work is to those we serve," says Seinfeld. She remembers afamily of seven forced to live in a single bedroom; the children, including an infant, slept on the floor. Baby Buggyprovided the family with a stroller, a baby carrier, a bassinette, and clothing for the kids. Says Seinfeld, "There wasjoy on the children’s faces and their mother was elated. Something like this happens every day at Baby Buggy." ➤

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Sally L. Smith✦HONORED FOR: Initiating groundbreaking approaches to educating kids with learning disabilities. In 1967, whenfew schools focused on students with dyslexia, attention problems, and other learning disabilities, Smith foundedThe Lab School of Washington, a Washington, DC-based K-12 facility that teaches academics through a multisen-sory, arts-based curriculum. Today, The Lab School, with its satellite programs in Baltimore and Philadelphia, servesmore than 400 learning-disabled kids each year (in addition to about tk adults). Smith is the school’s executivedirector and a professor of special education/learning disabilities at American University in Washington, DC.✦HOW AND WHY SHE GOT STARTED: Smith's third child, Gary, now 46 and a business owner and teacher, wasborn with problems, including dyslexia and severe ADHD, that interfered with the way he processed information.But Smith discovered that Gary was able to learn when all his senses were stimulated—through music, drama,movement, visual imagery, and so on. Drumbeats, for example, helped him focus, and scavenger hunts motivat-ed him to decipher written codes. When she couldn’t find a school that would incorporate these approaches,Smith started her own. She developed a multisensory academic curriculm and launched The Lab School, whichopened with four learning-disabled students, including her son. Three months later, enrollment had quintupled,and she was forced to find a bigger building. Says Smith, "People started coming to me and saying, 'Do with mychild what you're doing with yours.’ I didn't have medical training or a Ph.D.; I was just following my gut." ✦WHAT SHE TELLS PARENTS: Even if a child struggles with traditional approaches to math, reading, and writing,“he might be the best judge of character; he might be incredibly talented at making things,” says Smith, who teach-es her methods to educators across the country. “We need to look at what a child can do rather than what hecan't.” To learn about the culture of Brazil, for example, students at The Lab School dance to bossa nova music,design Carnival costumes, play soccer, and sample its cuisine—all activities that help social studies lessons sink in.✦HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE: "I faced a hard battle because at first I had no proof that my methods worked," shesays. "But today we have research showing that children who attend our program vs. those who don't test muchhigher in all subjects." Now her most pressing goal is meeting the demand for the school’s services and securingenough funding to keep the programs afloat. Says Smith, "Our students recently built a 14-foot giraffe in front ofthe school with the motto 'stand tall.' The message was for the kids, but it's for the school as well."✦WHAT INSPIRES HER: Seeing her former students flourish as adults. "Kids with learning disabilities are forced tothink outside the box," says Smith. "A lot of them go into the arts; others become entrepreneurs and inventors.We have one doctorate and three more on the way. These children can soar when they're taught properly." ➤



William H. Dietz, M.D., Ph.D.✦HONORED FOR: Sounding the alarm on the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S. Since 1997, Dr. Dietz hasserved as the director of the division of nutrition and physical activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, a role in which he has focused national attention on the increasing problem ofchildhood obesity and provided funding for scores of community-based programs to combat the problem. ✦HOW AND WHY HE GOT STARTED: “Doctors have made incredible progress in fighting heart disease andother illnesses, but childhood obesity can reverse those gains if we don’t do something about it,” says Dr.Dietz. Eighteen percent of children and teens are overweight, putting them at an increased risk of develop-ing life-threatening conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and artherosclerosis. This is not a newproblem, adds Dr. Dietz, who has devoted his entire career to helping kidsd combat weight problems. Priorto joining the CDC, he served as president of the Silver Spring, MD-based North American Association forthe Study of Obesity and from 1983 to 1997 was a pediatrics professor at Tufts University in Boston, wherehe founded what was then the only obesity clinic in the Northeast. In the early 1990s, Dr. Dietz was amongthe first experts in the country to speak out against unhealthy school lunches, calling for nutritional reformsthat he says are finally starting to take effect.✦BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT: In 1998, Dr. Dietz and his staff at the CDC began looking closely at statisticsfrom a nationwide annual phone survey of adults who had been asked to report their height and weight.Anecdotally Americans seemed to be growing heavier, but were they really? To find out, Dr. Dietz’s team plot-ted the collected data on a map of the United States—one for each year the survey was conducted. Theresearchers were startled to discover that rates of obesity were not only climbing but skyrocketing, with a con-centrated spike in poorer states. Meanwhile, outside studies suggested children were gaining weight evenmore rapidly than adults. As a result, doctors and other healthcare professionals began connecting the dotsand asking tough questions about the economic and cultural underpinnings of the epidemic. “The maps had abig impact on the national discussion,” says Dr. Dietz.✦WHAT LIES AHEAD: Dr. Dietz and his CDC colleagues are currently evaluating programs across the country to learnwhich are most effective in helping kids reduce the risk of obesity. For instance, one school-based program in El Paso, TX,that promotes walking and offers cooking classes for parents is showing promise. “It's about quality of life, good nutrition,safe neighborhoods,” says Dr. Dietz. “With kids, you have to get all these diverse issues under the same umbrella."

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