2008 Olympians Give Back Through Olympic Build Day with Habitat for Humanity
Jamie Blanchard November 25, 2008
Photo: Scott Cronk/USOC
A dozen Olympic athletes, coaches and hopefuls pose during the Olympic Building Day with Habitat for Humanity
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Cyclist Michael Blatchford put on a hard hat Saturday instead of a helmet while weightlifter Carissa Gump lifted sheetrock instead of weights. Blatchford (Cypress, Calif.) and Gump (Essex, Vt.) were among 12 Olympic athletes, coaches and hopefuls spreading the spirit of Olympism while making a difference in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the November 22 Olympic Build Day with Habitat for Humanity.
Athletes worked on two houses throughout the all-day build, doing everything from cutting steel beams to installing insulation to nailing down sub-flooring, despite having experience on playing fields, not construction sites.
"People with no skills who can actually help build a house is pretty amazing," said Gump, who noted she is not yet willing to trade her weightlifting career for a full-time stint in construction.
Other Beijing Olympians who helped swing hammers Saturday in Northeast Colorado Springs were U.S. flag bearer and track & field athlete Lopez Lomong (Flagstaff, Ariz.), volleyball silver medalist Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.), pentathlete Eli Bremer (Monument, Colo.), wrestler Brad Vering (Howells, Neb.), and women's volleyball coach Tom Hogan (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Also lending helping hands during the build were 2004 Olympic fencer Cody Mattern-Nagengast (Tigard, Ore.), three-time kayak Olympian and U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Chief Operating Officer Norman Bellingham (Colorado Springs, Colo.), three-time handball Olympian and U.S. Paralympics staff member Laura Ryan (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 2012 U.S. Olympic shooting hopeful Amy Sowash (Richmond, Ky.), and U.S. pentathlete and USOC staff member Terris Tiller (Baytown, Texas).
"The team effort has been really good; everyone has been pitching in," Mattern-Nagengast said. "The best part is everyone here: they're all motivated people. When one project finishes, people find a new place to help. We can pound it out one after another, and we're rolling through things. I'm just impressed with the projects we were able to accomplish with a bunch of people who really don't have construction know-how."
In part because of the efforts of the Olympians and hopefuls who came out for Olympic Build Day, a six-member Colorado Springs family - including a single mother who has a son with medical problems - will have their own home for the first time. Two members of the family put sweat equity into the house Saturday alongside the athletes.
"As a Colorado Springs native, I truly appreciate how much this city has done to promote the Olympic Movement," Bremer said. "My Olympic dreams were born and fulfilled here, and the people of Colorado Springs could not have been more supportive. I'm proud that my fellow Olympians and I can work through the USOC's Team for Tomorrow to give back to the city that has been so dedicated to supporting our dreams of representing America in the Olympics."
Bremer is one of 10 Athlete Ambassadors for Team for Tomorrow. Launched before the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the program is the ongoing humanitarian relief effort of America's Olympic and Paralympic Teams that consists of donations, volunteerism and other relief contributions to organizations including Habitat for Humanity, one of the selected causes of the 2008 teams.
Activities like Saturday's inaugural Olympic Build Day with Habitat for Humanity allow the country's top athletes to gain an even deeper meaning of representing the United States as an Olympic and Paralympic athlete. Athletes also help further the Olympic Ideals of goodwill, understanding, tolerance and harmony through their work on behalf of Team for Tomorrow.
Prior to the Olympic Build Day, the first collaborative effort between multiple Olympians and a Habitat affiliate, athletes have already donated service hours to Habitat for Humanity affiliates in communities around the nation. Olympic race walker Phillip Dunn (San Diego, Calif.), Paralympic swimming gold medalist Aaron Paulson (Portland, Ore.) and Olympic field hockey players Lauren Powley (San Diego, Calif.) and Amy Tran (Norfolk, Va.) are among those who have already donated time to Habitat outside of Olympic Build Day. Dozens more U.S. athletes are expected to participate this winter and spring.
Team for Tomorrow has also extended its reach beyond the United States to people in need around the globe. On behalf of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Teams, the USOC donated 1,000 relief tents to survivors of the May 12 earthquake in China's Sichuan Province that left approximately 5 million people homeless. The tents, which can sleep 8-10 people each, were transported to Chengdu, Sichuan, China, where they have assisted thousands of victims who lost their homes in the earthquake.
For more information, please contact the USOC Communications Division at 719-866-4529.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org.
Athletes worked on two houses throughout the all-day build, doing everything from cutting steel beams to installing insulation to nailing down sub-flooring, despite having experience on playing fields, not construction sites.
"People with no skills who can actually help build a house is pretty amazing," said Gump, who noted she is not yet willing to trade her weightlifting career for a full-time stint in construction.
Other Beijing Olympians who helped swing hammers Saturday in Northeast Colorado Springs were U.S. flag bearer and track & field athlete Lopez Lomong (Flagstaff, Ariz.), volleyball silver medalist Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.), pentathlete Eli Bremer (Monument, Colo.), wrestler Brad Vering (Howells, Neb.), and women's volleyball coach Tom Hogan (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Also lending helping hands during the build were 2004 Olympic fencer Cody Mattern-Nagengast (Tigard, Ore.), three-time kayak Olympian and U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Chief Operating Officer Norman Bellingham (Colorado Springs, Colo.), three-time handball Olympian and U.S. Paralympics staff member Laura Ryan (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 2012 U.S. Olympic shooting hopeful Amy Sowash (Richmond, Ky.), and U.S. pentathlete and USOC staff member Terris Tiller (Baytown, Texas).
"The team effort has been really good; everyone has been pitching in," Mattern-Nagengast said. "The best part is everyone here: they're all motivated people. When one project finishes, people find a new place to help. We can pound it out one after another, and we're rolling through things. I'm just impressed with the projects we were able to accomplish with a bunch of people who really don't have construction know-how."
In part because of the efforts of the Olympians and hopefuls who came out for Olympic Build Day, a six-member Colorado Springs family - including a single mother who has a son with medical problems - will have their own home for the first time. Two members of the family put sweat equity into the house Saturday alongside the athletes.
"As a Colorado Springs native, I truly appreciate how much this city has done to promote the Olympic Movement," Bremer said. "My Olympic dreams were born and fulfilled here, and the people of Colorado Springs could not have been more supportive. I'm proud that my fellow Olympians and I can work through the USOC's Team for Tomorrow to give back to the city that has been so dedicated to supporting our dreams of representing America in the Olympics."
Bremer is one of 10 Athlete Ambassadors for Team for Tomorrow. Launched before the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the program is the ongoing humanitarian relief effort of America's Olympic and Paralympic Teams that consists of donations, volunteerism and other relief contributions to organizations including Habitat for Humanity, one of the selected causes of the 2008 teams.
Activities like Saturday's inaugural Olympic Build Day with Habitat for Humanity allow the country's top athletes to gain an even deeper meaning of representing the United States as an Olympic and Paralympic athlete. Athletes also help further the Olympic Ideals of goodwill, understanding, tolerance and harmony through their work on behalf of Team for Tomorrow.
Prior to the Olympic Build Day, the first collaborative effort between multiple Olympians and a Habitat affiliate, athletes have already donated service hours to Habitat for Humanity affiliates in communities around the nation. Olympic race walker Phillip Dunn (San Diego, Calif.), Paralympic swimming gold medalist Aaron Paulson (Portland, Ore.) and Olympic field hockey players Lauren Powley (San Diego, Calif.) and Amy Tran (Norfolk, Va.) are among those who have already donated time to Habitat outside of Olympic Build Day. Dozens more U.S. athletes are expected to participate this winter and spring.
Team for Tomorrow has also extended its reach beyond the United States to people in need around the globe. On behalf of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Teams, the USOC donated 1,000 relief tents to survivors of the May 12 earthquake in China's Sichuan Province that left approximately 5 million people homeless. The tents, which can sleep 8-10 people each, were transported to Chengdu, Sichuan, China, where they have assisted thousands of victims who lost their homes in the earthquake.
For more information, please contact the USOC Communications Division at 719-866-4529.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org.
