British racing driver and AFH athlete Pippa Mann partnered with Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, for this year’s Indianapolis 500 in a groundbreaking campaign.  Pippa showed support during the month of May for Susan G Komen by wearing a  pink helmet and firesuit while her car had the Susan G Komen name and logo on the side pods in lieu of a traditional title sponsor.

Speaking about the partnership, Mann said: “This entire project started with the idea of simply taking my red crash helmet, and turning it pink to support the cause, and it has grown into something fairly amazing in a very short space of time.  My Indianapolis 500 this year is no longer about me.  This pink car will be out on track representing Komen, representing the survivors, and remembering those who sadly did not win their hard fought battles against breast cancer.  To have been a part of creating this opportunity for Susan G. Komen at the Indianapolis 500, and to now be a part of actually making this happen, is something I am incredibly proud of.”

Using the national platform of the world-famous race, she helped raise funding and awareness for the breast cancer organization.  We congratulate Pippa on her 24th place finish at the Indianapolis 500 and we applaud her for partnering with a nonprofit in this unique manner.  For more information about how you can help Pippa’s efforts for Susan G. Komen, visit www.racewithpippa.com.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Athletes for Hope would like to highlight an AFH member who’s been making history on the pitch and in her community: Julie Foudy. For the past seven years Julie has been a passionate AFH member and AFH Board Member as she brings her trademark commitment and intensity to growing Athletes for Hope as an organization.  During her illustrious soccer career, Julie was a key part of the US Women’s Soccer dynasty playing in four Women’s World Cups, and three Summer Olympic Games from 1991 to 2004. In 2007, Julie was inducted to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Julie has used her athletic platform to compile an equally impressive resume of activism and charitable involvement.  Ranging from activism for children’s rights to her extensive work for gender equality in sports, Julie has epitomized the mission of Athletes for Hope through her actions. Most recently, Julie again used sport to make the world a better place. Julie partnered with AFH member Ann Gaffigan in running the Los Angeles Marathon to raise funds for Magic Bus, an organization that uses sport to break the cycle of poverty in underserved communities across India. Click here to learn more about Magic Bus:  http://www.magicbususa.org/.

Nick Hundley

Professional baseball player, Nick Hundley, spent his off-season building a relationship with Habitat for Humanity of Las Vegas. On January 2^nd, Nick put down his baseball glove and picked up his paint brush and hammer to help at a Habit for Humanity build. In a few weeks, Nick heads to spring training, but during the next off-season, Nick looks forward to continue working with Habitat for Humanity in his home of Las Vegas.

Ashley Weinhold

Last month Ashley Weinhold of the Women’s Tennis Association took time out of her busy schedule to visit with the Boys and Girls Club in Austin, Texas. Ashley spoke to the club member about her story, her sport and talked answered questions from the kids. After their talk, Ashley led the group in a traditional tennis workout to get active on a beautiful Austin day. This was Ashley’s first visit with the club and she looks forward to growing the relationship in the coming months.

Kori Carter

In December Athletes for Hope presented its annual workshop to USA Track & Field, and the message resonated well with Olympic hopeful Kori Carter. Since the workshop Kori has become involved with two nonprofit organizations in the Palo Alto area: Girls to Women and The Riekes Center for Human Enhancement. For Girls to Women, Kori has joined the planning committee for the upcoming Girls to Women 5K run on March 22^nd. And, with the Riekes Center Kori will be assisting with a high school track team that trains at the center, and she plans on mentoring young Paralympic athletes.

We are so proud of the inspiring AFH Athletes competing in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. We were lucky enough to get a moment with Luger Preston Griffall before he took off to compete in the Doubles Luge. Wish Preston and the other AFH Athletes good luck on our Facebook Page or follow them by subscribing to our Twitter List.

1. What is the best part about being an Olympian?The best part about being an Olympian for me is that it gives me a platform to stand on to be a role model for younger athletes.  It’s important for me to be able to leave some kind of legacy behind after i’m done with me athletic career and to be able to inspire the youth of the world to never stop dreaming; no matter what your dreams may be.
2. Who inspired or encouraged you to become the best in your sport?There are too many people in my life that have inspired me along my athletic career for me to just name one….. my dad always encouraged me to follow my dreams and above all have fun, my mom was my number one fan and inspired me to never give up and to always believe in myself and my long time coach Klim Gatker has always pushed me to the limit and made me trust that I had the ability to accomplish anything in sport.
3. What would you say to kids that are interested in your sport?To any kid out there that’s interested in Luge I would say; you will find no sport that will give you the same thrill!!  If you love speed and adrenaline pumping through your veins then luge is the sport for you!
4. Do you have plans to see any other events in Sochi? Which ones?After i’m done with my competitions I will absolutely be cheering on my fellow Team USA athletes!  I grew up skiing in Utah so naturally i’m a big fan of all the skiing events!  I love all the freestyle events so I plan on being at the aerials competitions and definitely trying to see the new slope style events!
5. What charity would you like to give a “shout out” to and why?I’d like to give a shout out to the Youth Sports Alliance because they have done a tremendous job introducing the importance of sport to the youth around the Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah area.

Want to know what it is like to speed down a luge track at up to 80 miles an hour? Check out Preston and his USA Men’s Doubles Teammate Matt Mortensen on a training run. Wow!

Many of us have achieved so much in our lives as individuals, but we did not find the strength of character alone.  We were all inspired to push ourselves harder to achieve greatness by someone – a parent, a coach, a teacher, a mentor.  This holiday season, Athletes for Hope asks each of you to:

– Share who your biggest inspiration is on your twitter, facebook, instagram, and other social media accounts –  remember to use the hashtag #AFHInspire

–Sign up to stay informed about AFH’s work in the community here.  We will give away a signed Tony Hawk skateboard to one lucky person who signs up between now and December 21^st.

–Support Athletes for Hope.  AFH is able to touch the lives of people across the globe because of your generosity – no donation is too small.  You can donate to AFH here.

–Learn more about what we do here.