Hotelier and philanthropist Harris Rosen recently accepted one of three President's Awards from The U.S. Dream Academy, a Maryland-based non-profit educational organization that helps at-risk children. The founder of Rosen Hotels & Resorts was honored for an educational pilot program he started in Tangelo Park, a predominately African-American community in Orlando.

“My pledge was that every two-, three- and four-year-old would be able to attend preschool at no expense to their parents,” says Rosen, “and that we would pay tuition, room, board, books and travel for every youngster accepted to a public college in Florida.”

Since its inception in 1993, the Tangelo Park program has provided 250-plus college scholarships, while the high school drop-out rate in the neigborhood dropped from 25 percent to six percent.

Rosen received the award at a dinner in Washington. Attendees at the event included Senators Orrin Hatch and Hillary Clinton and entertainer Oprah Winfrey.