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AFH News

Posted: January 31, 2024 Updated: January 31, 2024 by Hannah Bronkema

Athletes for Hope Continues Founders’ Legacies Through Athlete Leadership Council

Over seventeen years ago, a group of elite athletes came together to form the world’s leading sports philanthropy organization, Athletes for Hope (AFH). Since its inception AFH has worked with thousands of athletes worldwide, connecting with a minimum of 5 athletes a day, educating and engaging them on how to make the world a better place.

Among the AFH Founding Athletes was “the Greatest,” Muhammad Ali. Regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century and the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Ali’s greatest triumphs have taken place outside of the ring as a leader and champion of life.

Through his humanitarian efforts, he has perhaps contributed more than any other athlete to make the world a better place. Recipient of the 1997 Arthur Ashe Courage Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, Muhammad leaves a legacy that continues to inspire people all over the world.

During the month of Ali’s birthday, a symbol of resilience, advocacy, and philanthropy, Athletes for Hope announces its launch of the newly formed Athlete Leadership Council (ALC) that will play a crucial role in carrying forward Ali’s vision by leveraging the influence of athletes to create positive social change.

Spearheaded by esteemed athletes Stephen Curry, Katie Ledecky and Nathan Chen, the ALC is a nod to the AFH Founding Athletes as the generational athletes of today continue on their legacy by inspiring the next generation of sports leaders.

“It means so much to be able to continue the legacy of AFH Founding Athletes like Muhammad Ali, Mia Hamm, Andre Agassi, Alonzo Mourning and others who joined forces to create Athletes for Hope over 17 years ago,” said Stephen Curry, renowned NBA Superstar and Co-Founder of Eat. Learn. Play. “It’s a privilege to carry forward their shared belief that all athletes- no matter what level, background or phase in their career- have the innate ability to make the world a better place.”

The Athlete Leadership Council will focus on collaborative efforts and inspiring the next generation of athletes to address social issues, support charitable causes, and positively engage with communities globally.

AFH remains committed to creating a world where athletes can contribute meaningfully to society beyond their athletic achievements, with a focus on athlete volunteerism and addressing physical health and mental health in communities all over the world.

Athletes for Hope is free of charge to athletes of any level. If you are a current or retired athlete looking to make a difference in your community, we invite you to work with us!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Posted: December 23, 2016 Updated: December 23, 2016 by bsanchez

As Athletes for Hope celebrates its 10-year anniversary, we are humbled by the many amazing people and organizations who have joined us in our journey over the past decade. We owe much of our success to our passionate group of supporters, such as Nike, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gordon & Llura Gund Foundation, the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation, our Board of Directors and so many others – thank you for everything that you do!

Over the past 10 years, AFH has grown from its original 12 Founding Athletes to a network of over 3,500 professional, Olympic, and college athletes. AFH member athletes have positively impacted tens of thousands of people across many charities and causes, and we feel lucky to work with such passionate, dedicated people on a daily basis.

In 2016, AFH continued to deepen the reach and impact of its programs, and a few of those highlights include:

Facilitated over 150 Let’s Move! Active School visits focused upon improving physical fitness in communities throughout the U.S. We were honored to receive the inaugural 2016 Let’s Move! Active Schools Partner of the Year Award.

Expanded reach of Athletes for Hope University to 34 college teams from Southern University, Louisiana State University, Tulane University, Michigan State University, and University of Virginia. In total, over 1,000 students participated in our Causeway Workshops and over 1,000 volunteer hours were logged by the student athletes in 2016.

Deepened the impact of AFH’s work on the global stage as our athletes became advocates for Gates Foundation grantee organizations such as 1,000 Days and Nothing But Nets.

While we have celebrated many achievements in 2016 and over the past decade, this year we mourn the loss of Muhammad Ali, who not only was a global sports icon, but a philanthropist and humanitarian who spent much of his life advocating for others in need around the world. We are also privileged to call him one of the Founders of Athletes for Hope. We created a short video to honor Muhammad’s legacy – we invite you to view it below.

On behalf of our team, thank you for your continued support. While more work remains; we hope you will join us in helping us make the world a better place.

Please consider one of the following ways to support our work and help us celebrate a decade of helping athletes and charities across the globe:

When you are buying gifts this holiday season, use AmazonSmile to support AFH.
Donate now to ensure AFH can deepen the impact of its programs.

Thank you for making our mission possible. These last 10 years would not have been possible without your support.

Best,

Ivan Blumberg

CEO, Athletes for Hope

Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe: Two Heroes. One Goal.

Posted: June 10, 2016 Updated: June 10, 2016 by bsanchez

The following originally appeared in the Huffington Post.

“Three pictures line the walls of my office. The news of Muhammad Ali’s death has me looking at them in a new light.

The first picture shows my childhood hero, Muhammad Ali, my son Corbin and me, taken nearly a decade ago when we launched Athletes for Hope—a nonprofit organization I run that educates professional, Olympic and college athletes about the importance of community service and connects them to causes about which they are passionate.

After growing up boxing and listening to Muhammad’s fights on a transistor radio, I first had the opportunity to meet The Champ at Andre Agassi’s school in 2004. A few years later, I asked him to take on the role of Founding Athlete of Athletes for Hope, joining a small group including Andre, Mia Hamm and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Muhammad and his wife Lonnie told me they were too busy for new responsibilities, but that this cause was too important not to support…”

(full article can be found here on the the Huffington Post)