Joey Cheek is my hero!

This morning when my alarm went off, I heard the story on NPR about Olympic Gold Medal winner Joey Cheek and the press conference he did after his victory.  He's donating his $25,000 gold medal bonus award from the USOC to Right to Play, an organization whose mission is: To improve the lives of children in the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport and play for development, health and peace.

Joey Cheek's specific emphasis is on helping the 60,000 children displaced by the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

This guy is 25 years old and he's truly a star.  I'm really impressed and inspired by him and having the guts to grab the floor when he got it to bring the world's attention to the tragedy in Darfur.  As reported in the New York Times, Cheek said:

Speaking at nearly as fast a clip as he had just skated, Cheek said, "I have a pretty unique opportunity here so I'm going to take advantage of it while I can."

Noting that he had a human tailwind behind him of family, friends, coaches and countrymen during the 12 years he pursued his Olympic dream, Cheek said, "I always felt like if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back."

He then announced he would donate his $25,000 gold medal bonus from the United States Olympic Committee to a humanitarian organization, Right to Play. Cheek said he would funnel his money to a program to help refugees in Chad.

Now, I challenge you to help match Joey Cheek's donation to Right to Play.  You can donate online and see the progress.  Just think what a few dollars can do for these kids.  If you're reading this, then you are lucky because you have Internet access.  If you live in the U.S., then you know what a great life you have.  Let's all help those less fortunate than ourselves find a little joy and happiness.