Thanks for the help!

Here are some great friends helping out at the Denver Marathon Expo...thank you so much for your help!! Susan, Beth, Alexander, and Danielle....I owe you huge!

AFG T-Shirts are in!!!

Hey everyone, AFG t-shirts are here!!! Let everyone know you are supporting America's Athletes. You can get one for free when you donate $10 or more a month. Go to http://www.americaforgold.org/ and donate now.

AFG recently participated in the Denver Marathon Expo with a booth where we hoped to raise awareness and funds for OUR athletes. It was a fairly slow showing, sold a few t-shirts and passed out plenty of fliers. This is just the start, plan to see us at many more events around the country. Keep up to date on where we will be at our website.

Last, I would like to say a HUGE thanks to my friends who volunteered at the Denver Marathon Expo which by doing so, allowed AFG to attend the Expo for free! Thanks to Danielle, Susan, Alexander, and Beth...who was on vacation!!! Thanks so much for helping out and making our first event appearance a success!

Pentathlete stepping up and organizing local 5k!!

In the previous post I talked about how Canadians are stepping up and holding small events in their communities to raise awareness and funds for Canadian athletes. Well, we have our first athlete here in the United States stepping up and paying it back to help America For Gold with its fundraising goals. Emily Shertzer, a pentathlete and runner extraordinaire is organizing and directing America For Golds First Annual 5k Run here in Colorado Springs, CO!! She is taking something she is passionate about and turning it into a great way to get the community active while raising funds to help OUR Athlete's training for the 2010 and 2012 Games.

Thanks for the help Emily!!

It's easier than you think to organize and host a small event. Take your passion and turn it into a fundraiser for America For Gold. Give us a call and we will help you help us...877-477-4488

Thanks for you Support!

Canadian Athletes Now Fund

The Canadian Athletes Now Fund is an incredible program started by an ex-athlete, Jane Roos, who has turned her passion for sport into helping Canada's athletes with bi-annual grants. They have been around for 10 years and were able to provide financial support to 244 out of the 266 athletes who competed in the 2004 Summer Games! Each athlete received $6,000 twice a year. We here at America For Gold are so encouraged by what they are doing and wish them continued success.


Take a look at their website and you will see they have really tapped into grassroots style fundraising with friends and families of athletes, and even athletes themselves holding BBQ's, small Art Galas, 5k Road Races, and even a Marathon on the Funds behalf!! Every little bit helps and just like you see in our Presidential Campaigns here in the States, millions of dollars can be raised through similar events and small donations. You would be amazed at how much help donating the equivalent of a large Latte can do for our athletes! So do not think you cannot help OUR athletes, because anyone can turn a normal Saturday into a small fundraising event or make a small donation to SUPPORT AMERICA'S ATHLETES!!

America For Gold has a goal of being able to match the Canadian Athletes Now Fund program and give 300 American athletes $6,000 twice a year starting in Jan 2009!! This would provide much needed financial assistance to some very deserving athletes and help fund their journey to the 2010 and 2012 Games!! They are training hard NOW and need OUR support NOW as medals are won years in advance to them ever standing on the ultimate podium.

If you are a Canadian, check out the Canadian Athletes Now Fund and donate today!! If you are an American and interested in holding a fundraising event on our behalf, please do not hesitate to call or email America For Gold for more information on how we can help you help us. Go to www.americaforgold.org for contact information.

Welcome

Welcome to the America For Gold Blog. We have created this blog so that you can ask questions about athletes and about America For Gold, a non-profit created by athlete's for athletes. Many people have a misconception about the funding of the athletes who train and compete in the Summer and Winter Games . Most believe they have everything taken care of, that all they have to do is sit back and train?? Some do receive generous amounts of support, but most, some 85% make less than $15,000 a year and spend much more than this on training and competing in their sport. America For Gold hopes to bridge the gap between the funding that is received and the funding that is needed for ALL OF OUR Athletes!! So, ask questions, post comments, and get involved. Check back often to find out what our organization is doing and where we are going and how you might be able to help support an athlete.

If you are an athlete, feel free to post your concerns or experiences with support in your sport. The American public wants to hear your story, so share it.

If you are a parent of an athlete who is training for an official sport of the Summer or Winter Games we would love to hear from you! Tell us your story. Has there been enough support to fund your son or daughter or have you had to sell your house to make his/her dreams a reality?

We look forward to hearing from you and we will do our best to keep you updated and answer any questions you might have.

Thank you for your support!