This month's newsletter by: Melissa Eckmann

Spotlight

Champion for Change Greg Hockensmith
This month we feature Champion for Change Greg Hockensmith, a gold medal paralympian and rehabilitation equipment specialist. With fellow wheelchair athletes, Greg co-founded a nonprofit organization called Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide, which provides sports wheelchairs to disabled individuals and organizations in countries such as Kenya and India. All the board members of the organization are accomplished wheelchair athletes that have benefited greatly from wheelchair sports and wanted to share this with individuals that cannot afford the same equipment.

The organization receives most of its gently used equipment donations through its network of hundreds of wheelchair athletes. Not only are disabled athletes receiving high-end equipment, but unused sports chairs are being reused and recycled. And when the group travels to third-world countries to donate the chairs, they host clinics in wheelchair basketball and other sports.

Greg’s story is featured in Champions for Change: Athletes Making a World of Difference.

Events

Kevin Trotta Published
An article by GSA New York Team Captain Kevin Trotta has been published in the October issue of SportsTurf Magazine. Titled “Developing an Environmentally Sound Industry,” the article promotes environmental stewardship in the management of sports facilities and reports on the progress being made, including the efforts of GSA USA.

Success at the Pac Rim I14
GSA Team Captain and Regatta Chairman Andy Bates of Hawaii was instrumental in creating a successful 2010 Pacific Rim Invitational at the Kaneohe Yacht Club. Horizon Lines, an ocean shipping and integrated logistics company, served as the corporate sponsor.

Andy reported perfect sailing conditions for the competitors from the United States, Canada, and Australia. For videos, pictures, and results of the event, visit the Sailgroove website.

Local Trust Tree Planting with Tucson Audubon
About 18 volunteers planted trees in Tucson’s Lincoln Regional Park-Atturbury-Lyman Bird and Animal Sanctuary in October. Kendall Kroesen, Restorations and Urban Program Manager of the Tucson Audubon, taught the group how to plant the mesquite and palo verde trees so they can receive and hold rainwater and still allow water to flow to other plants and trees in the area.

The 12 trees, which help remove carbon dioxide from the air, were donated by The Local Trust, a GSA-USA carbon credit program. You can read more about the project on the Arizona Daily Star’s website.

The Greatest Playground in the World
Upstate New York Team Captain Kevin Trotta is working with experts to demonstrate the value of minimizing negative environmental impact with a pesticide-free natural grass playfield at Bear Mountain State Park. Dubbed “the greatest playground in the world,” the playfield is being used as a demonstration for eco-friendly turf managers worldwide. Find out more about this project by reading the On-Hudson.com blog.

Jane Poynter Featured on Arizona Public Media
GSA-USA President Jane Poynter was recently interviewed on Arizona Public Media with Elisabeth Roberts, a University of Arizona PhD candidate in the College of Education. Jane and Elisabeth have been working together to create innovative science curriculum for junior high school students.

Jane discussed her latest book, Champions for Change, and the impact of teaching global warming through the personal stories of professional athletes. Students seems to respond to the personal drama in the science lessons. To read more about the interview and listen to the audio, visit Arizona Public Media’s website.

Dan Sullivan Honored
GSA-USA Team Captain Dan Sullivan was honored with the Education Award by Keep Rockland Beautiful at its annual awards gala. Keep Rockland Beautiful is an organization dedicated to creating a cleaner and more beautiful Rockland County, New York, through various cleanup and improvement programs.

Dan leads his GSA volunteers in Thiells, New York, and Fieldstone Secondary School. He participates in many activities throughout the year that involve caring for the environment and is a leader in his community. Dan educates his students about the necessity to protect the environment and do one’s part in taking care of our communities. Keep up the good work Dan!

Volunteers

Intern Needed for Champions for Change Program
GSA is looking for a college student or community member interested in volunteering as a Champions for Change Program intern. This is a terrific opportunity to get hands-on experience working on a middle school educational program. The intern will be working with GSA office staff to assist in program management, administration, and clerical requirements. Please contact Dina Delaney for more information.

Eco-Tips

Eco-Friendly Holiday Shopping
With holiday shopping upon us, this is a great time to consider giving eco-friendly gifts. Presents that give back to the planet are a great holiday idea, and shopping online has made gift giving a breeze. Just a few ideas include:

• Consider giving gently used sports gear from a retailer like Play It Again Sports.
• Companies like Yew Clothing create sportswear from recycled, organic, and sustainable materials.
• Another great idea to purchase gifts from locally owned businesses in your community. Search online to find independent businesses near you.
• Purchase carbon credits through GSA’s Local Trust program for the gift that keeps on giving. Funds raised go directly to planting trees to offset our carbon footprint.
• If you have a eco-conscious reader on your shopping list, give the new book, Champions for Change.Buy one as a gift, and a second to donate to your local school library to benefit local children.

New Partnership

Thanks!
Thank you to The Sundt Companies, Inc. for their partnership and support of Champions for Change Program. Sundt is a 100% employee-owned construction company based in Tuscan, Arizona. GSA-USA is possible because of partnerships like these! 

Resource

A no-cost way to raise money for non profits.
Go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Global Sports Alliance USA as your non-profit of choice. Every time you goodsearch instead of using other search engines to surf the web, money goes to GSA (or any other nonprofit you would like to help out). Please ask your friends to do the same. It adds up fast, and is a great way to help non-profits in this difficult economy.