1. Presentation By: Spencer Guerra Henri Landwirth (1927 - )

3. Give kids the world opened in 1989 and is located in Central Florida next to what is famously known as, Walt Disney World. Today the Village is a 70-acre resort complete with over 100 Village accommodations, entertainment attractions, whimsical venues, and fun specifically designed for children with special needs. Give Kids The World has now welcomed more than 88,000 families from all 50 states and over 65 countries.

6. During the Holocaust in 1940, Henri, his Mother, Fannie and his twin, Margot, were taken to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Located in Poland, Auschwitz was the largest of Nazi Germany’s camps. Henri's mother lived up until a few months before the end of the War, only to be put on a board ship with a thousand others which was then blown up at sea. In 1945, Henri was brought before a firing squad, when the soldiers unexpectingly lowered their rifles and told Henri to run.

7. In 1950, things started brightening up for Landwirth as he emigrated to the United States, and found employment in a New York City hotel. He started at the bottom, but worked his way up the ladder by doing the work of others as well as his own. For example, he would bribe the night accountant with a bottle of whiskey and then Henri would do his job for him. And by doing so, he learned how to do every job in the hotel. In 1954 Henri married Linda and they moved to Florida together. Henri, with his previous hotel experience, took a job running the 100-room Starlight Hotel in Coco Beach, Florida.

8. When Walt Disney moved to Florida, Landwirth found an opportunity and, along with several partners, obtained a Holiday Inn franchise near the main gate of Walt Disney World. He also built a senior citizen center, gave scholarships to poor kids in Israel, and created a scholarship program to allow Israeli children to come to the United States as visiting scholars. He began transportation programs for the handicapped and disabled people and provided housing and meals for families, by giving them food or emergency financial assistance. The more Landwirth accomplished, the more he did for others. He began working with mentally-retarded children, giving them employment in his hotels. He helped build a clinic for children with cerebral palsy and In honor of his mother, he began the Fannie Landwirth Foundation which allowed him to do yet, even more good things.

9. In 1985, Landwirth founded "Give Kids the World" as a means of helping terminally ill children and saying thanks to his adopted country for the many blessings he had received. Landwirth's Holiday Inn was part of an informal network committed to fulfilling the last wish of dying children, most of whom asked to meet Mickey Mouse. The red tape and the delay were interminable and Landwirth was outraged to learn that a child from Michigan died while waiting for paperwork to be completed. He decided that something had to be done and personally contributed a million dollars toward the creation of the village, a specially designed hotel and recreation complex for the sick kids and their families. He talked builders, suppliers, and laborers into donating their services and in short order the village was up and running. Landwirth secured free airline tickets for the children and their families, a free vehicle, free meals, as well as free tickets to Disneyland. More than 4,000 terminally ill children and their families visited the village in 1991.