Best Buddies: What Began as a College Project for Anthony Kennedy Shriver Now Touches Hundreds of Thousands of Lives around the World

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If you could list President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy as your uncles; Peace Corps founder Sargent Shriver as your father; Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver as your mother; Maria Shriver as your sister and Arnold Schwarzenegger as your brother-in-law, it's safe to say you could pull some strings. But what exactly would you do with that opportunity if given the chance?

Anthony Kennedy Shriver knows names can open doors. But beyond opportunity, his famous family provided him with a personal philosophy that inspired him to start a nonprofit that touches some 700,000 lives annually and has grown from a college project into an organization now in 50 countries, as well as all 50 states.

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Best Buddies International, started by Shriver in 1989, is dedicated to creating opportunities for one-to-one friendship, …