July 30 – Aug. 5

Welcome to week nineteen of the Sports Doing Good newsletter.

The Summer Olympics, in its best form, is a 17-day smorgasbord of sports doing good. We have athletes, teams, events, performances, and fans contributing to moments that spark great excitement, joy, and inspiration. Our hope is to find at least some of those types of activities each week and to bring them to your attention. Fortunately for the past 19 weeks we have been able to do that. And we look forward to doing it each and every week going forward.

In addition to the stories you have seen about Gabby Douglas, Michael Phelps, and Rebecca Soni, we highlight stories that cover the fun associated with Olympic pin collecting and imagining ourselves as Olympians, former Olympians who are bringing their incredible work ethic to the business world, a 101-year old marathoner (our “Do-Gooder” of the Week) who represents the sustainability of the impact of sport on our lives, an upcoming book that features the role of sport in bringing about peace in communities and around the world, the emergence of social media as a tool to enhance our connection with sport, the UN’s hope and efforts to bring sport to millions around the world so that we have great Olympians in the future to cheer for, and the story of a special coach leading his team to Olympic glory.

We also offer stories dealing with: a young person who is helping to combat a disease he is afflicted with so that others won’t have to suffer, two athletes (Albert Pujols and Caron Butler) with reputations for giving back to the community, boxers donating money, a former beneficiary of Big Brothers Big Sisters being a leader for the organization, an opportunity for each of us to run 10km in order to donate 10 meals to those in need, a program that highlights the amazing work done by the PGA Tour when it comes to charity, and several others.

Finally, we introduce in this newsletter a new section, Commentary Doing Good, which highlights analysis of something that is going on in sports that may need to change for the better. This week, the topic is the NCAA and regulation in college sports.

A quick reminder about two administrative matters. In addition to our Sports Doing Good heading, we are now including some photos/images in each newsletter. Please make sure to allow images from Sports Doing Good to be seen by your email system. (you should see a button or link allowing you to view the images). Also, in addition to email stories, please feel free to send stories via Twitter. Our address is @sportsdoinggood.

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So enjoy. And have a good week.

Fun Doing Good:

In the Olympics…sort of
Olympic athletes come in all shapes and sizes, from the lithe limbs of Japan’s Asuka Teramoto to the gargantuan frame of China’s Zhaoxu Zhang. But how do you measure up in comparison? Try the BBC’s app below and find out. Why not then share your results with your friends? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19050139

Olympic Collectibles: Don’t Call It Pin-Sanity
Ask Scott Reed how many Olympic pins he has, and he will tell you about 2,000. The 55-year-old specializes in the pins that national Olympic committees give to their athletes, so-called NOC pins. He keeps these framed on the walls of his house in Atlanta. Talk to Reed a little longer, and he will tell you about the time be bought 1 million pins from a dealer in Tucson and had them shipped to his house in two 24-foot trucks. “It makes me sound obsessive,” Reed says of the 2005 bulk purchase. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-30/olympic-collectibles-dont-call-it-pin-sanity

Australian Runner Michelle Jenneke’s Pre-Race Ritual Is Viral Smash
On your mark, get set, dance! With some crafty editing – and just the right soundtrack – Michelle Jenneke’s pre-race warm-up ritual has turned the Australian runner into the latest YouTube star.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltcCGd9zid8

Athletes Doing Good:

Olympians going for startup gold
They pursued Olympic glory, now these entrepreneurs are chasing their startup dreams. http://money.cnn.com/gallery/smallbusiness/2012/08/02/olympics-startups/?iid=HP_LN

Ten-year-old golfs 109 holes, raises $75,000 to fight rare cancer that took his eye (video)
Kyle Lograsso is only 10 years old, but he set a couple of pretty big goals for himself recently. Lograsso, who lost his left eye to cancer at age 2, decided that he would play 100 holes of golf in one day to raise $50,000 to fight Retinoblastoma, the rare cancer to which he lost his eye. But Kyle didn’t hit those goals. Nope … he exceeded them. Lograsso played 109 holes — 56 of them barefoot — and raised $65,000 at The Legends Golf Club in Temecula, Calif., on Friday in his Fight Fore Sight 100, to raise awareness to combat Retinoblastoma.  http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2012/07/24/10-year-old-golfs-109-holes-raises-75000-to-fight-rare-cancer-that-took-his-eye-video/

NBA Player Caron Butler Returns Home To Share Some Goodness
Professional athletes who are community minded and display true altruism are a dying breed these days. NBA players are often in the sports headlines, but rarely for their charitable works. Los Angeles Clippers forward Caron Butler was in the news this week as he made a large financial donation to charities in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin. This past week, Butler held a two-day charity weekend in his hometown. The two-time All Star announced a $200,000 donation to four Racine charities and the creation of The Caron Butler Youth Basketball League. http://technorati.com/sports/article/nba-player-returns-home-to-share/

Pujols focuses on charity, not accolades
Carrying the burden of being an icon for more than a decade, and experiencing the intense praise and scrutiny that come with it, has hardened Pujols to the point where he believes little good can come of opening up to the media about the game he takes so seriously.”The same ones that lift you up are the same ones that can bring you down,” said Pujols, providing a rare snapshot for why he can appear uncomfortable and distrusting with a recorder in his face. Ask Pujols about his charity work, however, and suddenly he lights up. Suddenly he’s engaged. Suddenly you start to figure out what this Pujols guy is all about.  http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120726&content_id=35596256&vkey=news_ana&c_id=ana

Haye-Chisora KO loser to donate $31K to charity
David Haye and Dereck Chisora promised that the knockout loser of their non-world title fight on Saturday will donate $31,000 to charity. At a joint news conference on Wednesday, where the bitter British rivals were separated by a metal fence, one of the only two things they agreed on was helping out charities if one or the other is knocked out at Upton Park. Chisora (15-3) picked a children’s hospital, and Haye (25-2) chose a bone marrow charity for minorities.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/mma/boxing/07/11/chisora-haye-charity.ap/index.html#ixzz21xbE2LUK

Super Bowl Champion & Former Little Brother Darrin Smith Gives Back to Big Brothers Big Sisters
After a successful 12-year National Football League (NFL) career, where he earned two Super Bowl rings with the Dallas Cowboys, Darrin Smith has become a national champion for children.  A former Big Brothers Big Sisters mentee (“Little Brother”), Smith will serve as a celebrity ambassador for the nation’s largest mentoring organization. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/super-bowl-champion–former-little-brother-darrin-smith-gives-back-to-big-brothers-big-sisters-164413796.html

Events Doing Good:

Seeking Success by Helping to Feed the Hungry
The partners in the initiative, called Run 10 Feed 10, are Unilever, on behalf of four brands, Degree Women, Ragú, Simple and Vaseline; Women’s Health magazine, published by Rodale; the Feed Foundation; and Crowdrise, a Web site that uses social networking and crowdsourcing to help raise money for charities…The goal of the program is signaled by its name: Each person who registers to run in 10-kilometer races to be held in New York and 10 other cities from Sept. 23 through Oct. 13, will result in donations through the foundation of 10 meals to people in need in the runner’s community. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/business/media/seeking-success-by-helping-to-feed-the-hungry.html?_r=2&smid=fb-share

Sports Initiative Doha GOALS Will Host Its First Annual Forum In December
Doha GOALS, a new initiative designed to develop the use of sport as a driver for social and economic change, announced its inaugural, annual forum, which will take place from Dec. 10-12, 2012. http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5448157&access=EH

Fauja Singh, 101, Dazzles in Olympic Torch Relay (“Do-Gooder” of the Week)
Punjab-born Fauja Singh, who defies age to run marathons, drew the loudest cheers as the Olympic Torch was carried by him, Olympic medal winners and leading individuals through London amidst a welcome clear sky and sunshine…United Sikhs, the charity organisation that organised the ‘Langar’, distributed thousands of ‘roti rolls’ along the torch relay route. “We hope to demonstrate through Langar how the community involves in selfless service. We will be serving thousands of free vegetarian meals along the route. It would also showcase how community food can bring people from all walks of life together.” – Parvinder Kaur – Langar Project. http://www.sikhfoundation.org/2012/people-events/fauja-singh-101-dazzles-in-olympic-torch-relay/

Media Doing Good:

China Heavyweight (movie)
Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang returns to China for another riveting documentary on that country’s ever-changing economic landscape-this time through the lens of sports. In China Heavyweight, Chang follows the charismatic Qi Moxiang, a former boxing star and state coach who recruits young fighting talent from the impoverished farms and villages across Sichuan province.  http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/china_heavyweight_2012/

CBS Sports special to highlight charity on TOUR
Helping those in need has been imbedded in the culture of the PGA TOUR for more than 70 years, dating back to the $10,000 charitable donation made by the Palm Beach Invitational in 1938. Since that seminal moment, tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Web.com Tour have combined to give more than $1.7 billion to the communities in which they are held, and PGA TOUR players have generated millions more for charities each year through their own foundations and initiatives. PGA TOUR 2012: Playing with a Purpose presented by Barclays, a one-hour CBS Sports special airing Saturday, Aug. 18, at 2 p.m. ET, not only documents the charitable activities of players and tournaments, but highlights the inspirational stories of those who have benefited from these efforts.  http://www.pgatour.com/2012/company/07/27/barclays/

Giving peace a sporting chance – Book on the Olympics and peace
By bringing together into one sporting arena people from all over the world, the games provide a platform for developing a shared global citizenship, and for exposing individuals and nations to alternative beliefs and cultures. Isn’t this the key moral message that ought to guide the Olympics in the 21st century? http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2012072513135576
Pre-order here, however should be available through most universities worldwide in the fall: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0415618789/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_jCEgqb0JACREN

Organizations Doing Good:

Brazil’s Bolsa-Atleta (Athlete Grant) Program
The Athlete Grant Program (Bolsa-Atleta) of Brazil’s Ministry of Sports is the largest individual sports sponsorship initiative in the world. Established in 2005, the program has already awarded over 18,000 grants to athletes, for a total investment of R$ 284.4 million (US$ 142.2 million) from the Brazilian federal government. In 2012, the Athlete Grant Program provided support to 4,243 high-performance Brazilian athletes from 53 sports in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. http://keirradnedge.com/2012/07/28/brazils-ministry-of-sport-secom/

Four IMG Worldwide Divisions – Academies, Licensing, College and Coaches – Join Forces With Family of Coach John Wooden to Further Coaches’ Education
Within the new alliance, IMG Academies will offer an exclusive leadership program inspired by the teachings of the legendary coach, and tailored to a variety of audiences, with a focus on the college coach. http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/08/02/four-img-worldwide-divisions-academies-licensing-college-and-coaches-join-forces-family-c#dDLBHUjve8mARhs1.99

Zumba Fitness Introduces ‘Zumba® Love’ Fundraising Platform Supporting Charitable Causes Throughout The World
Kick Starts Initiative with “Party in Pink™” Zumbathon® Campaign Movin’ to End Breast Cancer, running from Aug. 1-Oct. 31 benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and its Global Non-Profit Partners. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/zumba-fitness-introduces-zumba-love-130000566.html

Visa’s Go World Campaign Generates More Than 28 Million Cheers Prior to London 2012 Olympic Games in 11 Weeks
Go World encourages consumers to cheer via Facebook, Youku and Sina-Weibo in China, VKontakte in Russia, YouTube and Twitter (US), to inspire Team Visa athletes at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since the campaign launched in May, fans have cheered in the form of liking the Visa Facebook page, submitting photos, videos and text cheers and performing one-click cheers through Visa’s Cheer application on Facebook, viewing and sharing video content on YouTube, as well as including the campaign’s hashtag (#VisaGoWorld) on Twitter (@TeamVisa) and cheering through partner websites. http://investor.visa.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=215693&p=irol-newsArticle&id=1719502

Olympic spirit gives hope to refugees
The UN refugee agency has partnered with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the third time to launch “Giving is Winning”, an initiative that aims to break previous records by collecting 100,000 items of new sports clothing donated by athletes, including the Team GB sportswear designed by Stella McCartney. A group of dedicated volunteers will be sorting and packing the clothes before they are shipped to refugee camps in South Sudan, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. http://unhcr.org/501285579.html

People Doing Good:

Young Celebs Team Up for Charity Soccer at Chance to Play 2012
Young celebs from Disney and Nickelodeon are teaming up in a charity soccer game to help disadvantaged youth. Guests will have the chance to watch some of the favorite young stars in action 10 am to 3pm August 5, 2012 at Cromwell Field at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. Games, food, prize raffle and other fun activities round out the day of good will charity with all proceeds going to FUNDaFIELD and Toy Box of Hope.  http://www.pr.com/press-release/428294

Wrestler Jimmy Pedro coaches Team USA to its first Olympic judo gold medal
It was a historic day on Thursday in the ExCel Center in London, England, as Kayla Harrison of the United States won a gold medal at 78 kg in women’s judo, becoming the first American judo athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. This was also the first gold medal for the United States in the North Arena 2, which will also serve as the wrestling venue for the 2012 London Games starting on Sunday. The head coach of the U.S. Olympic judo team, who was in the corner coaching Harrison, was Jimmy Pedro, who has a strong connection to the wrestling community. http://themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=25390

Teams Doing Good:

Memphis Grizzlies charter has goal of productive men
It’s a place where successes are rewarded with “buckets,” failures are called “turnovers” and the team members get a “paycheck” for their work during the week. Sounds like a basketball team, right? Not quite. It’s a charter school created and sponsored by the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. http://www.tennessean.com/viewart/20120728/NEWS21/307280028/Memphis-Grizzlies-charter-has-goal-productive-men

The Fight To Delete Blood Cancer Has New York Yankees Fans Seeing Red
Go into New York City’s Yankee Stadium on Saturday, August 4 and you will be greeted with a sight never seen before. The bleachers and seats of the stadium, usually filled with spectators sporting iconic blue and white fan gear, will present a sea of red. The New York Yankees, in partnership with DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center, will distribute red caps to all the spectators who enter the stadium prior to the 1:05PM start of the New York Yankees vs. Mariners game. http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112667512/the_fight_to_delete_blood_cancer_has_new_york_yankees/

Commentary Doing Good:

The NCAA Entrenches Itself as Part of the Problem
This emergency action shores up the NCAA’s core pose as protector of youth against predatory bullies. Cold truth is quite the reverse. The NCAA concentrates power and control exactly where the villainy occurred at Penn State: in the coaches and chief administrators. At all the major sports institutions, the counterparts of those officials harness votes to set NCAA policy while brokering the market power of fans. http://chronicle.com/article/The-NCAA-Entrenches-Itself-as/133327/