9/28/2023
Twenty Olympic and Paralympic Athletes Get an Early “Win” for Their Community Impact Partners
Ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, P&G awards 20 athletes with a $24,000 USD grant for their charities to further their work.
As the world counts down to Paris 2024, athletes from around the globe are dedicating themselves to relentless training in preparation for one of the most meaningful competitions of their careers. While these athletes may be best known for pushing the boundaries of possibility in sport, in many cases their pursuit for greatness also extends beyond the athletic field and out into their communities as they champion causes they care about.
According to a recent survey* conducted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), more than 90% of athletes said they care** about important causes, but face barriers when trying to support these causes, such as lack of funding, time or a big enough platform. To help alleviate these barriers, P&G and our brands are continuing the Athletes for Good (AFG) program, in partnership with the IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC), to provide financial resources directly to the community impact partners important to athletes, to fuel the positive work they are doing together.
Olympian Ben Blankenship founded the Endless Mileage Project to foster sustainable environments and inspire the next generation of track and field athletes to break barriers through programming that plants trees and reduces sports gear waste that would otherwise end up in landfills.
As a longstanding partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, P&G’s brands have always supported and served athletes on their unique journeys to achieve their dreams on the world’s stage. Ahead of Paris 2024, we are continuing to support athletes by awarding 20 AFG grants of $24,000 USD to charities that athletes have nominated.
Just as our brands aim to deliver superior performance every day and make a positive impact in our communities, so, too, do the athletes being recognized with AFG grants. Whether they're mentoring the next generation of athletes, increasing accessibility to sport for people with disabilities or providing resources for those struggling with mental health, we are honored to help athletes continue to make a meaningful impact beyond the sporting field of play. The recipients’ stories will be told through P&G brands and markets leading up to Paris 2024.
Ayden Owens-Delerme, a Paris 2024 hopeful, supports the Boys and Girls Club’s mission to offer young people hope for a better future and opportunities for them to develop their full potential by volunteering at the Vieques, Puerto Rico, location.
More than 100 athletes applied for this third iteration of AFG, and the recipients for Paris 2024 were selected based on their passion for the cause, the personal impact of their chosen charity partner and the intended use for the grant. Here are a few of their stories:
Eilish McColgan (Great Britain, Athletics)
Eilish founded Giving Back to Track after her own experience with the financial burdens of high-level athletics. The organization believes that no child should be priced out of athletics, so they provide support to individuals who need it most — whether it be covering the cost of track facilities, buying training kit or paying for club fees. Eilish and her partner, Olympian Michael Rimmer, oversee the organization, and the grant will enable expansion of its free after-school clubs and start a fund to source trainers for deserving athletes.
Carlotta Gilli (Italy, Para swimming)
Inspired by its mission to enhance swimming accessibility for underserved and disabled individuals, Carlotta Gilli joined ToSwim as an ambassador in 2019. ToSwim is an integrated SuperApp that digitizes the world of swimming and creates a new experience for all swimmers by involving them in a community where they can communicate, inform, play, compete and become active fans in competitions and aquatic events. The grant will allow ToSwim to install LED systems — which induces stimulation through sensory channels and facilitates the psychological, psychotherapeutic and rehabilitative well-being of people with physical and or mental disabilities — into six pools, impacting 600 people per week, per pool.
Griffin Colapinto (United States, Surfing)
As a professional athlete, Griffin has struggled with mental health and started journaling to help him process the emotional ups and downs. In 2022, Griffin and his brother published their own journal and donated the profits to To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), a nonprofit that supports youth struggling with depression, addiction, suicidal ideation and self-injury. Now, Griffin participates in speaking events, sells journals and promotes the organization in social media. The grant will provide 96 high schools with TWLOHA’s week-long mental health curriculum.
The full list of Paris 2024 Athletes for Good awardees:
- Alena Olsen (United States, Rugby) supporting EcoAthletes
- Alexis Hanquinquant (France, Para triathlon) supporting Marion La Main Tendue
- Amber Keegan (Great Britain, Swimming) supporting Athlete Interactions
- Andre De Grasse (Canada, Athletics) supporting Andre De Grasse Family Foundation
- Ayden Owens-Delerme (Puerto Rico, Athletics) supporting Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico (Vieques)
- Benjamin Blankenship (United States, Athletics) supporting Endless Mileage Project
- Carlotta Gilli (Italy, Para swimming) supporting ToSwim
- Daniel Caverzaschi (Spain, Wheelchair tennis) supporting "Lo que de Verdad Importa” Foundation
- Eilish McColgan (Great Britain, Athletics) supporting Giving Back to Track
- Ezra Frech (United States, Para athletics) supporting Angel City Sports
- Griffin Colapinto (United States, Surfing) supporting To Write Love on Her Arms
- Hugo Inglis (New Zealand, Hockey) supporting Evidence Action
- James Farndale (Great Britain, Rugby) supporting Athletes of the World
- Marcus Mepstead (Great Britain, Fencing) supporting Trees for the Future
- Marin Čilić (Croatia, Tennis) supporting Marin Cilic Foundation
- Melissa Stockwell (United States, Para triathlon) supporting Dare2Tri
- Oliver Scholfield (Canada, Hockey) supporting Racing to Zero
- Rhydian Cowley (Australia, Athletics) supporting Bush Heritage Foundation
- Sanne Van Dijke (Netherlands, Judo) supporting Stichting 113 Suicide Prevention
- Sloane Stephens (United States, Tennis) supporting Sloane Stephens Foundation
* Survey included 200 athletes from 73 countries.
** Athlete responses include ‘very and somewhat’ care about social causes.
