Wassner Twins Commercial with the LAF

You may remember reading a post about the Wassner twins not too long ago on AthletesGiving. Well, Laurel just sent out an email this morning letting us know about some exciting work they did with the Lance Armstrong Foundation as part of an ad campaign launched by Nike and the LAF around Lance’s come back ride in the Tour De France.

Here is the email, please check out the embedded links:

Hi everyone!
In conjunction with Lance’s comeback to the Tour de France, Nike and the Lance Armstrong Foundation have launched a new campaign to help fight the global cancer epidemic. Lance is just one person and he can’t fight alone, so he asked other athletes, writers, artists, and survivors to tell their stories to help make a difference.

Bec and I shared our story to contribute to the global FIGHT against cancer, and to inspire athletes, survivors and fighters to achieve their dreams.

The commercial debuted last night on ESPN and will be aired on major networks through July.

To see the commercial and an a video about our story, visit www.wearyellow.com.

Thank you all for your support. We hope you enjoy the video and please pass it on.

Laurel and Rebeccah Wassner
www.wassnertwins.com

Aimee Mullins

A good friend of mine (THANKS LSM) sent this link over to me. Such a cool and inspiring story. A great reminder that we’re only limited by our own vision.

Aimee Mullins sees opportunity in adversity
Marco Visscher | June/July 2009 issue

Aimee Mullins
Photo:Schatz/Ornstein Photography
Aimee Mullins was born without fibula bones in her legs, which were amputated below the knees when she was an infant. A lot of people would consider that condition, occurring so young in life, a pretty big disadvantage. But Mullins likes to think of adversity simply as change to which we haven’t yet adapted. “For most people, adversity is a setback that signals something they have to overcome,” she says. “I prefer to see it as an opportunity to use it to discover potential, develop skills and create something new.”

Mullins, 33, has become a kind of expert at creating something new, starting with herself. She’s been an intelligence analyst at the Pentagon and a world-record-breaking athlete—with the help of a dazzling collection of prosthetic legs—as well as a fashion model, a motivational speaker and an actress. Her latest creation: activist dedicated to altering perceptions of disability. Mullins recently looked up the word “disabled” in the dictionary and was disturbed by its synonyms: helpless, useless, wrecked, maimed, lame… “It was so shocking,” she says, pointing out that with modern prosthetics, losing a limb doesn’t have to represent a “loss” anymore. “Instead, it can be whatever we want it to be.” Many people respond to her prosthetics by presuming “a lot about this person’s quality of life,” Mullins says. “We do others a great service by not presuming anything. Teenagers don’t even see my legs as abnormal. They recognize them from the video games. They see the potential.”

Blog to Nigeria, Lovedale

If you enjoyed reading Anna Katherine’s story about Andrew Lovedale on ESPN.com, please check out the blog about their trip to Nigeria by clicking HERE

Lovedale’s Story

This is easily one of the most inspiring stories I have read and couldn’t be closer to the mission of this blog. It was a written by a friend of mine for ESPN.com and, like a good book, will keep you reading right till the end.

Lovedale’s story is heartwarming, inspiring and a great reminder that we can all follow our passion for sport to it’s peak and then circle right back to where it all began so that we can help someone else facing the same challenges we overcame not too long ago.

Please read this, I can promise you will enjoy it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=clemmons/090508&sportCat=ncb

Alpine Initiatives

Skiers haven’t always been known for their philanthropic efforts, but Alpine Initiatives, a non-profit started by JP Auclair and a few other skiers, hopes to direct some of the endless energy of the ski community toward the greater good.

Earlier this year, JP Auclair joined forces with Chad Fleisher, Mike Hovey and Seth Koch to form Alpine Initiatives, a non-profit whose mission is to “educate, empower, inspire, promote health and wellness among those less fortunate.”

For its first project, AI is working with International Peace Initiatives to help finish an orphanage in Kenya.

Want to get involved? What can you do do help out? How about party and have an awesome time in Vail, Colorado. Tonight there will be a 80s themed dance party at Vendettas, in the Vail Village. The party starts at 9pm and will feature an amazing raffle with Prizes Like One Free day of Heli-skiing in Haines, AK, Armada Skis, Orage Outerwear and Clothing, Oakley Goggles, Gift Cerificates to Local Restaurants, Custom Bootfitting from Kenny’s. Check out the facebook page for more info. The night will be hosted by freeriding pioneer and all around awesome dude JP Auclair. So bust out your best 80s garb and party for a good cause!

Team for Tomorrow

I have always been impressed by Olympic Athletes’ desire to be involved on an altruistic level. I have written several posts on this site about just that. Maybe it’s just me but Olympians seem to be filled with a passion not just for their sport but for the world around them. It’s very raw and perhaps that is what attracts us to the Games, they’re real. There is no catch, no selling out, just passion.

The Team For Tomorrow Fund is an opportunity created by the USOC to allow just that, an opportunity for Olympians to give back. Below is their description of the Team For Tomorrow Fund:

Welcome to the Team For Tomorrow Fund webpage.

Team for Tomorrow is a humanitarian relief fund that allows Olympic and Paralympic athletes the opportunity to give back to local communities and people in need throughout the world. Launched in July 2008 in partnership with the 2008 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, the fund’s initial causes are earthquake relief assistance and Habitat for Humanity (see below and at left). The fund will continue on with future classes of Olympians and Paralympians, and will consist of donations, volunteerism, disaster services, advocacy and other relief contributions.

Today’s athletes have expressed a profound interest in humanitarianism, and in social and civic responsibility. They’re looking for ways to make a difference in the world and to gain an even deeper meaning out of representing the United States as an Olympic or Paralympic athlete. Team for Tomorrow offers a vehicle through which to channel our efforts, and to unite the U.S. Team around one extremely worthy cause.

Click HERE to check out their list of athlete ambassadors.

Click HERE to check our their website.

Training Update

Triathlon training is going pretty well.  I have started to see some swelling in the leg that I had the cancer in, but nothing that a little ice can’t solve.  For those who have not been, the Chicago lakeshore is one of the most fun places to work out.  From my apartment, it is a 30 mile paved trail down and back.  The heat index in Chicago today was 95 degrees, but it was still a good 30 mile ride.

Swimming continues to be the toughest part, but I am getting a little bit better.  It’s tough because you can’t breathe the entire time as with running and biking.  The schedule I have been using can be found on the website for the Chicago Tri Club.  If any readers have tips, I could desperately use them!!  Thanks!

LiveSTRONG,

Brian

Plan Your Own Goodwill Adventure: Website Fundraising

If you recall, Melanie Lidman will be riding her bike from Canada to Mexico as a fundraiser. Her journey is a great insight into the world of athletic giving.

-One of the most effective and easiest ways to raise money for your trip is through a website with online donations. There are two steps to this: creating a personal website or blog and creating a page for online donations. Building a website is free, easy and the best way to keep many people updated on your progress throughout the adventure. I personally like building a website/blog through Blogger (http://www.blogspot.com) because with their layouts, it’s ready in about five minutes and looks fairly professional. The website should be where you gather all of the information—bios of team members, your fundraising goals, a map of your progress, any fundraising events, and updates and photos from the trip. You can check out our website: http://teamgreenjello.blogspot.com. It still needs some work, but you can get the basic idea.

Creating a website where people can donate money to your cause is even easier than creating a blog. The best website is Firstgiving (http://firstgiving.org/), which has over 30,000 organizations to choose from. Even if your charity isn’t on their exhaustive list, it’s simple for your charity to sign up. Friends and family donate via credit card or PayPal to your personal page on the website, and Firstgiving handles everything, so you don’t need to deal with any money transfers or expenses. The only downside: they charge a 7.5 percent transaction fee, so not all of your money goes to the charity.

If you’re working with a slightly larger charity, contact their outreach organizer as one of your initial steps. They can let you know if the organization has their own fundraising technology they can set you up with that will allow them to bypass the higher transaction fee. For example, World Bicycle Relief uses Kintera, a similar service, and gets to keep more of the money. Our fundraising website is here: http://tinyurl.com/mpv3pg

After you have your blog and fundraising page up and running, make sure you get the word out. Send an e-mail, twitter, or relentless Facebook messages to everyone you know. The message I sent out is below:

Dear Family and Friends,
Hope this e-mail finds you happy and healthy. I am fresh back from a stint working as an intern at Outside Magazine in New Mexico, after finally graduating from UMD, and excited for my next adventure on the horizon. Along with my friends Jess and Brendan, I will be biking from Vancouver, British Colombia to San Diego. This is my first bike adventure – I’ve never done anything like it before – and I’m ecstatic to be putting off the job search for a few months while we roll down the coast (it is downhill the whole way, right? That’s how it looks on the map). In addition to some crazy adventures, we will be raising money for World Bicycle Relief, an organization dedicated to building bikes for aid workers and teachers in rural Africa and Asia. Rugged bikes built especially to carry heavy loads allow health workers to access remote villages in a quarter of the time and make a huge difference in the lives of everyone in the community.

We’ve set a goal of raising $3,000, enough to buy 25 bikes for a village. So far, through a basketball tournament and bar night, we’ve raised almost $1,000. I know times are fairly tough right now, but a donation of just $10 would really help us meet our goal of providing bikes for people who need it most. You can donate directly to World Bicycle Relief through our website: http://tinyurl.com/mpv3pg

We also have a blog so you can follow our exploits and progress down the coast:
http://teamgreenjello.blogspot.com

Thanks for your support… Drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing. I’m in Boston till July 1, our departure date, so if you’re around here give me a holler.

Love and bicycling,
Melanie

Before I sign off, I thought I’d share my first adventure: learning how to use a bike with clipless pedals (which should really be called clip-in pedals). With my bike, and most bikes used for racing and touring, my shoes have a cleat that attaches to the pedal so I get more power in each pedal stroke. Since this is my first bike not from Kmart, I had to learn the clipless pedals from scratch. I went to the only patch of grass in all of Santa Fe, confidently clicked my shoes onto the pedals… and fell over immediately. Then I realized what I should have thought of earlier: I don’t know how to unclip. Luckily my cell phone was within reach. “Jess… I’m clipped into my bike and I can’t get up….” [insert hysterical laughter here]. I’m not sure why I thought calling someone in Maryland would help my situation, but when you’re lying on your back with your feet attached to a bike in the middle of a park with everyone looking at you, well, you’re not thinking rationally.

After I finally righted myself, the New Mexico state police ambled over to let me know I could not ride my bike on the only patch of grass in all of Santa Fe, because, it was after all, the only patch of grass for miles around (which was why I chose it… to cushion my wipe outs!). After about 20 minutes and 40 bruises on the packed dirt, I got the hang of clip in/clip out enough to pedal off into the mountains. Things were going great, I was cruising along, bonking up yet another hill, and then BAM! Next thing I know I’m sprawled out on my back, still clipped to the bike of course, road rash up and down my left side, and a pick-up full of construction workers drives by, honking and hollering.

They later asked if I needed any help (it is the friendly Southwest, after all), but I mumbled an I’m fine, unclipped myself as gracefully as possible, got back on and pedaled off into the sunset (of course it was getting dark and I had no light). Summer adventure – off to a phenomenal start!

Tune in for the next post about planning fundraising events.

One For Father’s Day

This is one of the greatest stories I have every heard:

Now call your dad and tell him how much you love him.

It can all change in an instant.

One cause that is near and dear to my heart is spinal injury research. I have had 3 friends sustain spinal injuries and loose the use of their legs through ski injuries. While I was working as an athlete manager for Jeep a good friend of mine, Tara Llanes, lost the use of her legs in a cycling accident. As an athlete I cannot imagine anything more terrifying than sustaining that kind of an injury. In spite of my dislike of ska music a Mighty Mighty Bosstone’s lyric keeps crossing my mind: “I’m not a coward, I’ve just never been tested, i like to think if I was I would pass.” I cannot imagine the ways a spinal injury would test you. The stories of athletes who have suffered them and soldiered on amaze and inspire me. Here is a story of someone who has been tested and who has passed with flying colors!

Josh Dueck was an up and coming Canadian skier. I met Josh on the Nor-Am tour (skiing’s minor leagues, one step down from World Cup) in the late 90’s we were both mogul skiers. The video below is of Josh telling his story in his own words. It is rough stuff and there are a few swear words:

Now fast forward to this spring where Josh is a Sit-Ski World Champion:

I am so impressed and inspired by Josh’s story of perseverance, courage, ability to suffer such a great loss and come out of it a World Champion.

Here is more video of Josh ripping it up! Watching him ski powder at the end of the video simply amazing!

Thanks for reading

mike