In the wake of tough times in the United States, Russia, Cuba, China, or anywhere in the world Rick Amato is bringing an invitation of unity,  love, and a special message about the choices young people are facing today in regards to racism, hatred, violence, and addiction. Now, in a time when America needs it most, Rick Amato is spreading The Power of a Choice across America. Front page news stories across the country are carrying the life saving message he delivers.

“You are a powerful being because you have the power to choose, but you do not have the power to choose the consequences of your choices.”

This is the powerful and gripping adage of international speaker, Rick Amato (uh-MAH-tow), who is a recovering addict. Compelled by the grave crisis and desperate need of America's youth, Amato developed The Power of a Choice campaign and introduced it into the public schools of America, educating young people about the choices they face. The President of the United States, George W. Bush, after being presented with Amato’s message of refocusing the efforts of the United States of America in the failed war on drugs, received Amato’s message warmly. Afterwards, for the first time in American history, in his State of the Union address, a President focused on addiction and allocated over nine hundred million dollars of federal money to focus on recovery from and prevention of addiction.  

Rick Amato has spoken to over 630,000 junior high and high school students, including speaking to students in Pearl, MS and Paducah, KY where highly publicized school shooting tragedies have occurred.  Amato challenges thousands of students across America through his public school lecture. "The message is powerful and so needed in our schools," said Dr. Gene Henderson, a parent of a senior student, "Kids hung on his words.  They gave him standing ovations.   He shares that he has had a problem.  He does not cover up failures which help them identify with him."

For more than 25 years, Amato has communicated to young people with genuine transparency.   "Our future depends on the war he is waging," said former Congressman and NFL superstar Steve Largent. " Anytime someone tries to help young people make good choices and stay on the right track, I am for them."

"I've called a lot of tough games,” says James Brown, ABC Sportscaster.  “Amato's campaign is not a game.   It is a most serious mission that demands our attention.” Rick Amato’s message has received both national and international acclaim in his campaign for the War on Addiction®. Dr. Amato and his teams have traveled extensively in Russia, China, Cuba, and other post-socialist countries where he personally met with Presidents Gorbachev and Yeltsin in the Kremlin. Dr. Amato has traveled in 44 countries and in almost all 50 states including the United States Virgin Islands and Bermuda. Dr. Amato has met Whoopi Goldberg and Bryant Gumbel and shared his life-changing message and recently presented it to newsman Dan Rather and world-renowned artist Thomas Kinkade in private meetings.

Amato has authored several books, including his challenge to the idea of coincidences, A Pocket Full of Pennies, a book about discovering the daily miracles in your life. The message has produced hundreds of video and audiotapes. In addition to this, he has addressed the nation on television and his work has been acknowledged on VH1, Fox Family Channel, The 700 Club, PBS, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) as well as many other major news outlets. He leads groups of doctors, nurses and lay volunteers each year in humanitarian efforts of medicine and Christian spirituality to many nations, especially focusing of late in hundreds of United States government sanctioned missions to Cuba. 

In addition to this, Amato has carried this journey around the world to, in Amato’s words, "to impact the evolution of human consciousness before I die with this message.”  Amato likens this message to the hope he found as a rebellious, confused, drug-using teenager in the early days of his development.  He now speaks to audiences with a fascinating combination of cutting-edge science and technology synthesized with the ancient messages of spirituality and knee-slapping, hilarious humor.

Dr. Amato is founder and president of KidsCare, a multi-million dollar, non-profit humanitarian and educational organization, distributing medicine, medical supplies and equipment into Cuba, Eastern Europe and other post-socialist countries. His organization has taken over $5,000,000 worth of medicine and medical equipment performing surgeries, including one uniting American and Cuban doctors to heal a child in the precarious nation of Cuba. Before the surgery, the doctors prayed together.

Serious business, that's how Rick Amato defines his journey.  Amato and his wife of over 30 years, Nancy, are continuing in a family life that now includes eight grandchildren with an eighth on the way. He is a doting grandfather who says, " What started out to be a fight for survival has now become a quest that my children’s children and all the children of the earth might know, whatever their problem, what it means to be free.”