Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (born July 20, 1965) is an American activist for people with

intellectual disabilities Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

. In 1989, he founded

Best Buddies International Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers t ...

, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities to find employment and social opportunities. Through his mother, he is a nephew of World War II casualty Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

, Senator

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

, and Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

Early life and education

Shriver was born at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, to

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009) was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with physical and intellectual disa ...

and

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creatio ...

, Jr. His mother is the founder of Special Olympics and his father is a founding director of the Peace Corps. Through his mother, he is a nephew of World War II casualty Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, and Senator Ted Kennedy. Anthony Shriver is the youngest of five children. He graduated from the

Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit boar ...

in 1984. He then attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

before transferring to

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

in Washington, D.C., from which he graduated in 1988 with a double major in theology and history.

Career

Shriver is the founder and chairman of

a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which he created in 1989. Best Buddies is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that provides adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities social inclusion and job opportunities. He has been able to get the organization to spread throughout the world and it has over 1500 chapters today. Shriver spoke in 2008 about the all-inclusive nature of the program: "The great thing about Best Buddies is there's something for everybody. You can be a volunteer in some shape, form or fashion, whether you're volunteering to get your kids involved, whether your son or daughter is involved in their school program, whether you want to be a mentor yourself as an adult, whether you want to get an online Buddy, whether you're an employer and want to hire someone with a disability to work in your office—if you've got any sense of motivation and determination and want to give back, there's a role for you at Best Buddies, which I think is pretty unique. Even in Special Olympics, for most people, you can be a coach or a spectator, but you're not going to run the 50-yard dash. In Best Buddies, you're running the 50-yard dash with your Buddy. People get a different level of experience by participating, as opposed to writing a check, though that's important, too. But beyond writing checks, we need people to get involved and give their time." Best Buddies has grown into a leading nonprofit entity with increasing international reach across six continents and 54 countries worldwide; establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 2017, the Boston Globe uncovered that donations from Best Buddies had been given to Tom Brady's personal charity. "Since 2011, while Brady has served as the face of its signature Massachusetts fund-raiser and helped it raise nearly $20 million, Best Buddies has paid $2.75 million to Brady's own charitable trust and has pledged to grant the organization an additional $500,000 in 2017--a total of $3.25 million.". In 2017, Boston Globe journalists were denied access to the annual Hyannis Port Challenge at Harvard university, Best buddies later apologized for the incident. In addition, Anthony and his brother Timothy (the chairman of the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...

) have recently aligned Best Buddies and the Special Olympics to create the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge event, aimed to encourage greater acceptance and inclusion for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Shriver has also been a director of UniCapital Corp. since March 1998. UniCapital Corp. is an investment house. He is currently on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

of Level Brands.

Politics

Shriver - along with most members of the extended Kennedy family - is a part of the Democratic Party. In 2005, he considered running for Governor of Florida in the 2006 election. He was also said to have considered a run for Governor of Florida in the 2010 election.

Personal life

Shriver married Alina Mojica on July 2, 1993, in

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts Hyannis Port (or Hyannisport) is a small residential village located in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is an affluent summer community on Hyannis Harbor, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the south-southwest of Hyannis. Community It has ...

. Until March 2020, he resided in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which ...

, with Alina and their five children: Edward Nunez (Teddy), Eunice Julia Shriver, Francesca Maria Shriver, Carolina Fitzgerald Kennedy Shriver, and John Joseph Sargent Shriver.6."Shriver, Anthony." Astrology. N.p., 17 July 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.. Alina and Anthony filed for divorce in November 2018, They sold their shared Miami Beach home in March 2020.

References

9. International programs- Best Buddies, https://www.bestbuddies.org/international-programs/

External links

bestbuddies.org