Long Treks On Skate Decks UPDATE

Many of you had the pleasure of learning about Paul and his crew making a difference from AG’s recent post titled “Long Treks On Skate Decks”. I have had the pleasure of emailing with Paul and through that learned that AG wasn’t entirely accurate with all our information and wanted to include this update that he sent me:

“LongTreksOnSkateDecks covered a solo trip done by our team mate Laura Hatwell who raised money for Help for Hero’s based out of the UK where she lives.

I have strongly considered doing an event for a charity to help Soldiers with PTSD having been in the Army myself and having lots of friends serving in Afghanistan. But due to our heavy focus on documenting our trip through photographs, video, music, stories and poem, we’ve decided to partner up with a local charity this year named Art a la Carte. Art a la Carte is a small charity based out of Calgary Alberta Canada that focuses on patients recovering from cancer. They provide artwork of various media types which is loaned/presented to the patients at local cancer centers. We will be providing landscape photography as well as photographs of us on our journey’s to Art a la Cart to be used as images to help ease patients, or to help motivate them. On our next voyage to morocco, we are also trying to raise a Minimum of $1 per Kilometer for each rider (totaling $7500 minimum} for the charity. Our mission is to inspire people first and foremost so we felt this was an excellent charity to work with.”

I have to say, I really admire Paul for the thought he’s putting into his charity of choice. AG is always encouraging people to find a cause they REALLY connect with, not just the first one they see. It’s as important to connect with your cause as it is to connect with your challenge.

Keep following Paul and his crew at http://www.longtreksonskatedecks.com/

Take A Seat

This is an incredible story of one athlete riding thousands of miles in an effort to raise money for a good cause. Please check out his page HERE

Long Treks on Skate Decks

These guys are taking it to the next level. The cool part is that they’re doing it in the name of fallen soldiers by raising money for “Help for Heroes”. Check out this video and definitely take a look at their website

Charlie Simpson Helps Haiti

Often, the silver lining in a huge tragedy like the one in Haiti is seeing everyone come together in the aftermath to help those in need. It’s humanity at its finest and Charlie Simpson, a sever year old athlete, is a prime example. Click HERE to read this heart warming article.

Captain Ron Kyle

After hanging out with a few friends who spend their time volunteering or working as firefighters, I have seen first hand just how great of athletes they are! Here is the story of one of them doing extraordinary things to help others.

http://www.goodnewstoronto.ca/heroes.html

Running for the JDSF

John Dau has an incredible story as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and he was featured in the film/book “God Grew Tired of Us”. He was motivated to start his own foundation called the John Dau Sudan Foundation. The JDSF’s mission involves transforming healthcare in Southern Sudan.

John Dau lives in the US now and has his connection with more than 27,000 others who were displaced like him or orphaned, prompted 23-year-old Sudanese born track and field athlete Lopez Lomong (he carried the U.S. flag in the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics) to get involved.

Read more HERE

pets2vets

I have always said that some of the best athletes in the world are our soldiers. They train hard to be the best at what they do in the name of our country. All too often they end up facing challenges that I can’t even begin to imagine as a result of their service.

Dave Sharpe was one of those soldiers. He was struggling with PTSD and didn’t know where to turn or who to talk to. That’s when he found Cheyenne, a pit bull rescue puppy. Over time he started to realize that she was the perfect outlet and that’s when he decided to start a program to help other vets have the same companionship.

It’s a great story and well worth a read.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34572712/ns/health-pet_health/

Push For The Cure

This is a great story of a few Canadian guys who decided to do something about breast cancer so they grabbed their long boards and set out to skate across Canada. Please take a second to watch the video on their home page by clicking HERE. Their message at the end of the film sums up the reason for this website.

Blind and Naked

This is an amazing story of one of the world’s best athletes partnering up with a cause he believes in and using his athletic talents to bring awareness to it. Please check out this video to see Erik Weihenmayer’s latest feat.

Yoga for LBBC

For some reason I seem to receive more information from the Yoga community about what they’re doing to give back than any other. I’m assuming it’s the culture surrounding the practice of yoga. Regardless, this is another example of the Yoga community and it’s athletes using their practice to make a difference. I received this email today and thought it was a good one to post on AG.

“At LBBC we are already busy preparing to kickoff our fundraising campaign for Yoga Unites 2010. There are a couple of reasons for our early start this year. First and foremost, despite the current uncertain economic climate, we are challenging ourselves to raise more money than ever before to help women and families affected by breast cancer. Did you know that over 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year? To help support our mission, and to honor those lives touched by breast cancer, our goal is to raise $200,000 to fund LBBC’s programs and services. And we need your help.

Please save the date: Sunday, May 16, 2010 for the 8th annual Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer. I am inviting you all to be a part of this event once again by exhibiting at our healthy-living expo. There are also other opportunities to get involved, volunteering, sponsoring or forming a fundraising team! Our event website has launched, so you can also find out more information there: www.yoga4livingbeyondbreastcancer.org. One major change we have made this year is we have eliminated our registration fee for yoga class participants. That’s right – it costs nothing to register for the event. Instead, we are encouraging more people to get involved and fundraise for LBBC. We are challenging each and every participant to raise as much money as possible. Please consider starting a team and spreading the word today.”