December 23, 2008

Fab Serena just returned from Africa with news of her charitable work with B.A.S. (Build African Schools). Together they opened a secondary school named after her in the village of Matooni, about 70 miles southeast of Nairobi, Kenya, with state-of-the-art solar panels for power and computers donated from Hewlett-Packard. Her credo? ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ Good for you, girl.  Can’t wait to see what 2009 brings (besides your memoir).

(via Tennis Served Fresh & Women’s Tennis Blog)

For the past two years Teter’s helped with numerous projects in Kirindon. Using proceeds from Hannah’s Gold, the awesome Vermont maple syrup she sells, she’s provided farming tools, seeds and fertilizers, supported sustainable farming initiatives, purchased home base care kits and trained home visitors in home care of HIV patients, purchased bicycles, conducted recreation sessions for vulnerable children, and much more.

Teter grew up in a small Vermont town where she used to help her dad collect sap that he would boil down to make into maple syrup every spring.  Now Teter donates all the proceeds from her “Hannah’s Gold” syrup and will be donating any prize money she earns this season. She is also hosting an auction on Go211.com where people can bid on snowboarding gear and also has plans to start selling “Goodness” sweatbands on the site.

“We recently went there [Kirindon] to really get a feel of what’s going on and what the money is doing,” Teter said. “It was so inspiring because not only is the money doing a lot, it’s just impacting the whole community.”

“The clean water project and wells and rain catchment systems make a huge difference. We saw some of the old drinking holes and they are just so dirty,” Teter said. “We also got to see an addition that was put on one of the schools that really needed it and there’s also a boarding school being funded by us now that’s for girls who have run away from marriages.”

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December 10, 2008

Looking for more ideas? How about a signed Justine Henin visor or apparel from some of your favorite 2008 Olympians?

Right To Play - the international humanitarian organization that promotes health, developing life skills and peace for disadvantaged communities and children - is offering a variety of items donated by athletic superstars such as Venus and Serena Williams, Chemmy Alcott, Paula Radcliffe and numerous 2008 Beijing Olympians. Bid for these items through December 15th on eBay ebay.com/righttoplay.

December 4, 2008

Vermont’s strengths include ranking in the top five states for a high rate of high school graduation, a low violent crime rate, a low percentage of children in poverty, high per capita public health funding, ready access to primary care, low geographic disparity of mortality rates within the state and a low premature death rate. In addition, Vermont had a smoking rate that was 17.6% less than the national average of 20%.

Vermont was followed by Hawaii, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Idaho and Maine.

At the bottom of the list at # 50 was Louisiana. It ranks in the bottom five states based on a high prevalence of obesity, a high percentage of children in poverty, a high rate of uninsured population, a high incidence of infectious disease, a low rate of high school graduation and many preventable hospitalizations.

The report also states that after a decade of robust gains, America’s health has leveled off and may be poised to take a plunge. Not great news - but as individuals you can do a lot to maintain your own health so start by eating healthy, exercising, and not smoking.

Where do you live? Check your state’s health ranking as well as others.  The entire report is available online.

December 1, 2008

Down-Mountain and Cross-Country: 140 Years of Skiing in Maine Dec. 1 - Maine’s skiing history goes back farther than any other New England state and a digital slideshow produced by the Ski Museum of Maine backs up that claim. The show will be presented Monday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

Celebrity Skifest Dec. 5 - 8: Deer Valley is kicking off the ski season with Celebrity Skifest . The invitational ski event pairs former Olympic ski legends with television and film celebrities for a weekend of skiing, live music and fundraising for the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance, which supports and empowers member organizations to protect communities, ecosystems and water quality.

The DV Celebrity Skifest will include giant slalom races on the ski resort’s Birdseye run, and the public is invited to watch as some of the best-known legends of U.S. skiing compete in this year’s event, including Deer Valley’s own Ambassador of Skiing, three-time Olympian Heidi Voelker. Celebrities scheduled to attend include Larry David, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Matthew Modine, Scott Wolf, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Gloria Rueben, Ian Ziering,  Rob Morrow, Patrick Warburton, Neil Patrick Harris, Dylan Bruno, and Camyrn Manheim. The Skifest Race will be televised by CBS on Sunday, December 21st following NFL Football.

Free skiing at Hidden Valley Dec. 6-7: With 20 inches of snowfall so far this season and ideal snowmaking weather, Pennsylvania’s Hidden Valley ski and snowboard resort in the Laurel Highlands near Pittsburgh is open for skiing and riding with free lift tickets Dec. 6 - 7.  In addition to the free skiing, Wintersports U, the resort’s new snowsports school, will offer 90 minute group ski or snowboard lessons at no charge to guests age seven and older through December 19th.

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November 24, 2008

Ana is the figurehead of UNICEF’s Christmas gift campaign in Serbia. Together with basketball legend Sasha Djordevic, Ana is appearing in print advertising to promote the items, which are sold on a 100 per cent charitable basis.

“When I was a kid I used to receive UNICEF cards,” said Ana. “Now, I am sending them. It is a special pleasure to know that each UNICEF card and product, apart from making a person who receives it happy, directly helps at least one child.”

Items for sale in Serbia include teddy bears, greeting cards and toys such as the “Brio Ant”. Visitors in Serbia can buy the items by visiting the UNICEF Shop.

Funds raised through the gift campaign are used within Serbia to fund UNICEF’s priority programmes, which are aimed at promoting a rights-based approach to the survival, development and inclusion of all children from conception through adolescence.

There is a particular focus on the rights of those children who are excluded due to ethnic background, disability, poverty, violence, abuse or exploitation. Ana fronts the “School Without Violence” programme and she visited a Belgrade school earlier this month.

Ivanovic, who grew up in battered, war torn Serbia (along with Jelena Jancovic),  has an on-going relationship with the UN. Last year, she was named UNICEF National Amabassador for Serbia. In that role she uses her name and fame to advocate for child rights in Serbia, particularly in the areas of education and child protection.

Good stuff Ana.  To see who else is giving selflessly back - check our post on Random Acts of Kindness.

November 18, 2008

Sports giant Nike - long an advocate for empowerment and change in the world of women in sport - has just joined forces with the non-profit Ashoka organization - a global association of social entrepreneurs -  to launch “GameChangers: Change the Game for Women in Sport.”

Gamechangers is an online competition that challenges young social entrepreneurs to come up with ways to “leverage sport for positive social change in the lives of girls and women.”

From now until February 11, 2009 the site will be accepting submissions and nominations for innovative solutions in the field of sport for social change.  Early entrants are also eligible to win a camcorder and digital camera so they can make a video for the site!

Judges include soccer player Abby Wambach and Mystics owner Sheila Johnson who will  select 10-15 finalists; the Changemakers online community will then vote for the 3 winners. Even non-contestants are encouraged to join the dialogue by making suggestions and recommendations in Changemakers’ online forum.

This is a great idea on so many levels so get your creative juices flowing. Not only does the competition inspire empowerment by offering winners the chance to see their proposals realized, but it also provides the opportunity for young women to get plugged into a global community of activists. 

Now that’s teamwork.

November 16, 2008

Sunday Nation followed her visit and noted that activity came to a stop in the sleepy village of Matooni as the world number two ranked tennis player opened a secondary school named after her in the area on Friday. The Serena Williams Secondary School,  south-east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, was built in record one month, and is fully equipped with a computer laboratory and Internet facilities for the students. Wonder how long it will take for these kids to discover MySpace and Facebook?

Serena, the younger of the two Williams sisters famous for their tennis prowess, is on an African tour as the global ambassador for Hewlett Packard HP, who have teamed up with Build African Schools Foundation to put up learning institutions equipped with the latest technology.

For the better part of this week, Serena has been on a similar trip in Johannesburg, South Africa, working with the Starfishgreatheart Charity for orphans infected with HIV. On her website she wrote:

“This charity helps give aid, care, and housing to kids with AIDS. These kids are mostly born with AIDS and they don’t have the care that they need or can live with. The kids I met today were orphans. It was so sad to see them in this situation. They had so much hope and love in their eyes, yet a tinge of sadness behind their pupils bringing me to tears. …”

Her foundation, which concentrates mainly on education projects for the poor, has set up another school in Senegal.

Nice to see athletes giving back. Keep up the great work girl!!

November 13, 2008

Since she joined the LPGA in 2003, Lorena Ochoa’s 24 tournament victories are second only to Annika Sorenstam. Last year she became the first woman to earn more than $2.9 million in a single season, topping $4.3 million in prize money.

Ochoa, who turns 27 on Saturday, takes another big step in her career today when she plays host to the Lorena Ochoa Invitational at her home course in Guadalajara, becoming the 15th woman in history to have her own LPGA tournament.

The LA Times reports that while Ochoa has come to define women’s golf, the sport is a long way from defining her.

“Who wins a golf tournament or leaves with that beautiful trophy is only a memory for a while,” Ochoa says in a second-floor ballroom overlooking the Guadalajara Country Club course, where she learned to play the game while in kindergarten. “And it’s only satisfaction mostly for you and the people around you. It sounds a bit selfish. I prefer to be remembered for other things. Being a good person. Giving back to the community and help[ing] others.”

Ochoa’s humility is evident in all aspects of her daily life. While others on the LPGA tour travel in private jets or at least fly first class, Ochoa insists on going coach. And as many as a dozen times each year she sets aside a morning to meet or make breakfast for the groundskeepers at tour stops.

The world’s No. 1 women’s golfer also has a foundation that helps with education in her native Mexico. She helped save an elementary school in one of Guadalajara’s poorest neighborhoods and now La Barranca has 245 students and a waiting list of dozens. Ground is about to be broken on a high school complex next door, a $650,000 project funded by Ochoa’s foundation.

For Ochoa, challenges come in a variety of shapes and sizes and she tackles all of them with a stroke of genius.

November 7, 2008

The “Bayer Diabetes Care Presents Friends and Family Ice Show” was filmed last month at the U.S. Airways Arena in Phoenix.  It will be broadcast this Saturday, November 8th, from 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET on NBC (check local listings).

The Jonas Brothers — Kevin, Joe and Nick — are the music headliners for Yamaguchi’s annual “Friends and Family” ice show, which features Olympic and world-class skaters and their children.

Bayer Diabetes Care, the lead sponsor of the“Friends & Family” ice show, recently announced a partnership with Nick Jonas, who has type 1 juvenile diabetes, to launch the “Walk In Nicks Shoes” campaign to help young people with diabetes and their families simplify life with diabetes. Information and updates from Nick are available on www.nickssimplewins.com.

The “Friends and Family” show concept has been something dear to Yamaguchi’s heart. She and husband, Bret Hedican, are parents of two daughters. Keara was born in 2003, and Emma arrived in 2005. Their children have big skates to fill as Yamaguchi has won a gold medal and Hedican was part of the Carolina Hurricanes team that won the coveted Stanley Cup title in 2006. Yamaguchi has always been involved with children’s organizations and established her Always DreamFoundation for children in 1996.

Among the skaters expected to join Yamaguchi in the show this year are Olympic gold medalists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who will be making their first appearance in the show after becoming proud parents of son, Jesse, on Sept. 30,2007. Two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan, who gave birth to her third child, daughter Nicole, in May, also will take to the ice.

Other members of this star-studded cast are two-time Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva, Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko, and four-time world champion Kurt Browning. Children of the skaters also participate in the show.

On the musical front, Demi Lovato & Jordan Pruitt also perform.

Sounds like a great kick-off to the holiday season. I’ll be setting my DVR.