Athletes raise funds for Haiti

With the Opening Ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games just 18 days away, the top priority for most athletes is, of course, competing in the biggest athletic event of their careers.

But many, however, are taking time out of their hectic pre-Olympic schedule to help those in need, especially in the wake of the tragedy and relief efforts occurring in Haiti, where a major earthquake and aftershocks have cost the lives of an estimated 150,000 people and have left many more homeless and orphaned.

American Olympic athletes have been getting involved in Haiti through numerous vehicles. Some,
such as U.S. women’s ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero, are using social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to help generate donations from fellow athletes and fans. Members of the U.S. Ski team auctioned their race bibs. And defending Olympic halfpipe gold medalist Hannah Teter, donated her prize money to benefit those in need. 

Ruggiero, who earned an Olympic gold medal in 1998 and is preparing for her fourth trip to the Winter Games, has been trying to help an organization called Mercy Corps. According to its website, Mercy Corps is a team of 3,700 professionals helping turn crisis into opportunity for millions around the world.

“I would like to help these efforts by reaching out into the hockey community and beyond to raise much needed funds to support this mission,’’ Ruggiero said in a posted message on the Mercy Corps Web site. “Please donate $5, $10, or even $100. Just [as] in sports and life, strength in numbers... We can all make a difference, even if it is just a few dollars.’’

In addition, members of USA Hockey are using Facebook to sell T-shirts and wristbands which say, “USA Hockey Helping Haiti,’’ as a fundraiser.  Brittany Ammerman, a member of the 2009 U18 World Champion U.S. women’s ice hockey team, has been spearheading that effort.

World luge champion Erin Hamlin is also using Facebook to help in Haiti. She is trying to collect $2,000 for an organization called DirectRelief International. On her Facebook page, she writes, “As an athlete with an extensive and amazing support system, I know the generosity many people possess. Now is a great time to show the world.’’

Norway’s alpine skier Aksel Lund Svindal and 2006 giant slalom Olympic gold medalist Julia Mancuso helped organize efforts in the skiing community to raise funds for Haiti. Race bibs used at the 70th Hahnenkamm downhill and the super-G ion Cortina were signed by U.S. athletes and are now up for auction on eBay with all proceeds going directly to help efforts in Haiti.  Lindsey Vonn’s winning bib can be viewed at:  http://myworld.ebay.com/cortinabibs4haiti/.

Teter, who has qualified to compete in Vancouver, finished second in contests over the weekend at the 2010 Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in Park City, Utah, and earned $10,000 in prize money. She is donating those winnings to Airline Ambassadors, which has collected about $500,000 for Haiti victims.

Typically, Teter donates money to her charity, Hannah’s Gold, which helps bring clean drinking water to a community in Kenya, but she decided to use her winnings to help those in need in Haiti this time.

Meanwhile, the figure skating community has also been active. U.S. ice dancer Jennifer Wester has been organizing Skate-A-Thon Help Haiti 2010, which will be held Jan. 31at her training rink in Simsbury, Conn. Local skaters are seeking pledges from sponsors and will skate laps during a free 45-minute ice session, which was donated by the rink.

“We really couldn’t do a show in such a short amount of time and many of the skaters were just in Spokane (Wash.) for the national championships or are preparing for the Olympics,’’ said Wester, who coaches at Simsbury and competes in ice dancing with her husband and partner Daniil Barantsev. “We just wanted to show that even though a lot of us don’t have much money we could still help out. We will be stroking and doing a lot of good for others.’’

Wester had been hoping to compete at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships last week in Spokane, Wash., but has been sidelined by a knee injury. Doctors cleared her to resume some training, however, and she plans to participate in the Skate-A-Thon.
 
Following the event, skaters will send thank you notes to sponsors and will write letters to children in Haiti. All proceeds will benefit the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. For information, log on to: wb-on-ice.com.

Learn how you can help here.

Tags: Angela Ruggiero, Brittany Ammerman, Daniil Barantsev, Erin Hamlin, Halfpipe, Hannah Teter, Ice Hockey, Jennifer Wester, Lindsey Vonn, Luge