Batchelor received more than 50 awards for his legislative service. In 1994, Batchelor was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as a member of the U.S. delegation to observe the South African elections. He traveled alongside Jesse Jackson and met with President-elect Nelson Mandela following the historic election that marked the end of the apartheid era. In 2000, Clinton appointed Batchelor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Batchelor traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, where he spent six weeks examining abuses and drafting resolutions to condemn violations made by certain countries, the timeliest of which was one criticizing Russia for their invasion of Chechnya, he said. Three years later, Batchelor returned to Geneva as an observer to the 59th annual meeting of the commission in the wake of mounting global criticism surrounding the U.S. 2003 invasion of Iraq. Batchelor established his own firm in 1986, and continues to specialize in providing business development consulting services, strategic government relations and public affairs issues management to his clients. In 2002, Batchelor was named "Central Floridian of the Year" by the "Orlando Sentinel" for his successful efforts to generate more than $2 billion worth of funding in construction and renovation for Orange County Public Schools. After six prior referendum efforts had failed to generate some level of taxation to support the district's dire construction challenges, Batchelor organized the "Change 4 Kids" campaign. The ballot initiative passed with nearly 60 percent of the vote, despite the fact that fewer than 25 percent of residents have children enrolled in the county's public school system. Batchelor was widely credited for helping coalesce the community at large to support the effort. In the fall of 2013, the "Orlando Sentinel" reported that Dick Batchelor would again serve as chairman for the effort to renew the tax. The decisions to extend the sales tax will go on the ballot before local voters in 2014. Batchelor has served as honorary chairman of the Dick Batchelor Run for the Children since 1981, which has raised more than $1 million. The race is the largest annual fundraiser for the Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families, which is part of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. In 2011, the run was held for the first time at Universal Orlando per the request of Universal executive Jan Stratton before her death. In addition to his annual 5K Run for the Children, Dick Batchelor is an advocate to a number of children's causes, both locally and nationally. Batchelor is chairman of the Florida Hospital for Children Board, chair to the Children's Leadership Alliance of Orange County, advisory board member to the Federation of Families of Central Florida organization, board member of Florida's Children First, and actively involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.