Holly Robinson Peete & Rodney Peete to Receive Good Sam Award at Rotary Club of Los Angeles Foundation Luncheon

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Holly Robinson Peete, best known for her roles in "21 Jump Street," "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," and "For Your Love," along with her husband Rodney Peete, a former NFL quarterback, will be honored with the prestigious Good Sam Award by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles Foundation during their annual luncheon on Friday, October 24, 2025. The event will take place at the historic Biltmore Hotel and will celebrate the couple's remarkable philanthropy through their HollyRod Foundation.

Both Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete have transformed personal challenges into a powerful mission of service. Their HollyRod Foundation emerged from deeply personal experiences: Holly's father, Matthew Robinson (the original Gordon on "Sesame Street"), battled Parkinson's disease, and their son RJ was diagnosed with autism at age three. The Hollyrod Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and providing resources to families with loved ones diagnosed with autism or Parkinson's disease.

The Good Sam Award honors community leaders who demonstrate bold leadership in advancing human kindness, understanding, and compassion. Named after Dete Meserve's novel and Netflix movie, "Good Sam," the award will be presented to Holly and Rodney by Meserve herself, the first recipient of this honor.

"Service Above Self is one of the guiding tenets of Rotary International, and the Good Sam Award honor individuals who have lived that ideal through their words and their deeds," said Paul Jacques, President of the Rotary Club of Los Angeles. "Rodney Peete and Holly Robinson Peete are shining examples of Service Above Self, and we are honored and grateful to celebrate their efforts to create a more open, inclusive, and compassionate world for those living with Autism and Parkinson's."

Holly's powerful philosophy, "I wouldn't change my son for the world, but I would change the world for my son," perfectly embodies the Good Sam Award's mission of transforming personal experience into global service.

Holly Robinson Peete is an actress, singer, author, talk show host, activist, and philanthropist. Best known for her roles on popular TV shows like "21 Jump Street" and "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," her acting career has spanned over 30 years. Currently, she hosts the Peacock series "Queens Court" and its spin-off, "Kings Court." Her other credits include the 1992 miniseries "The Jacksons: An American Dream" and the sitcom "For Your Love." Peete's highly praised "Weather Hunters" airs on PBS Kids, and her children's book, "My Brother Charlie," earned her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. In 2022, Holly received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Rodney Peete, a former NFL quarterback, played college football for the USC Trojans and received first-team All-American honors in 1988. Peete was drafted in the sixth round of the 1989 NFL draft. He played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and Carolina Panthers. FOR RODNEY PEETE & HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE PHOTO/BIOS: CLICK HERE

The new Good Sam Award statuette is designed by Sir Daniel Winn, a Vietnamese American master artist and philanthropist who was knighted in 2018 for his cultural and humanitarian contributions. It will be unveiled at the awards luncheon. Winn is known for his artistic style, "Existential Surrealism," which explores human compassion and kindness through surrealist compositions, making Winn the ideal person to create the Good Sam Award, honoring those who promote human understanding and compassion in the Los Angeles community. 

Erick Weiss of Honeysweet Creative returns as producer of this year's event. All proceeds will support the foundation's various community projects, which positively impact the LA community. The Transnational Space Alliance Summit and Akerman LLP proudly sponsor the Good Sam Awards luncheon. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.rotaryla5.org or follow us on our social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, LinkTree, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

• FOR TICKETS/SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION: CLICK HERE
• MEDIA CREDENTIALS NEEDED: CLICK HERE

ABOUT THE ROTARY CLUB OF LOS ANGELES:
The LA5 is the fifth-oldest Rotary Club in the world. Over the past 30 years, LA5 has built a Foundation with over $11 million. LA5 currently donates more than $250K in academic and vocational scholarships to deserving LA students. LA5 has a long history of substantial donations in Los Angeles, and the world. It was the lead funder of LA Edelman Children's Court, the first of its kind globally and is actively building water wells in villages in Myanmar among other global projects (see http://www.rotaryla5.org/). 

ABOUT THE ROTARY CLUB OF LOS ANGELES FOUNDATION:

The Rotary Club of Los Angeles Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is a philanthropic entity affiliated with Rotary International, a global network of community leaders committed to humanitarian service. Established by the members of Rotary Club LA5, this Foundation serves as a conduit for their charitable efforts, supporting a wide range of local and international initiatives. For more information, visit: rotaryla5.org/meet-foundation.

Media Contact:
Cheri Warner
818-760-8995
[email protected] 

SOURCE The Rotary Club of Los Angeles