USA Silver Medalist Michelle Guerette and Canada's top Badminton player Anna Rice awarded Olympian Service Fellows
BEIJING (AUG. 19, 2008)—Beijing 2008 Olympians Michelle Guerette (USA rowing) and Anna Rice (CAN badminton) are moving into the next exciting chapter of their lives as they have been selected as the first two recipients of the Johnson & Johnson Olympian Service Fellowship with Right To Play. The program is designed to help Olympians gain valuable post-Games life experience while sharing their special skills and Olympic spirit with children living in disadvantaged areas around the world.
Underwritten by Johnson & Johnson as part of its Hearts of Gold program, Guerette and Rice will participate in a three month fellowship with the international humanitarian organization Right To Play, which uses sport and play to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children affected by war, poverty and disease. As Fellows, the Olympians will work in one of the regional Right To Play offices to acquire valuable job skills in areas like program management, fundraising and communications that will help them throughout their post-competition careers. In addition, the Olympians will work closely with children in the field to execute the Right To Play sport and play programs.
Two-time Olympian Michelle Guerette, who earned a silver medal in the women’s single sculls rowing event in Beijing, aspires to carry out the fellowship focus on assisting the Right To Play Toronto Headquarters with fundraising and administration. Here she will be able to apply skills gained from managing her rowing career as well as working in grants administration at Harvard University.
“I am honored to have been chosen to represent the Hearts of Gold Fellowship program and am excited to extend the values of the Olympic Games through this wonderful opportunity,” said Guerette. “I enjoy sharing and interacting with children and hope to continue encouraging them to believe in themselves."
Anna Rice, a two time Olympian, is a strong advocate for the power of sport to instigate positive personal and social development in the lives of children and adults. Rice will hope to serve her fellowship in Right To Play’s East Africa field office, where she could assist with communications and help improve the lives of children in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. "I am very excited about the chance to be able to give back as an Olympian beyond the Games", said Rice. "The opportunity to combine my love of sport with working with children is just a wonderful opportunity that I am grateful for. I am looking forward to seeing first hand how the power of sport and play can be used for positive social change."
“An Olympian’s power to inspire and lead lasts well beyond the 17 days of competition,” said Owen Rankin, Vice President, Corporate Equity and Olympic Sponsorship, Johnson & Johnson. “It’s our hope that through the fellowship program, these remarkable individuals will not only touch the lives of children in need, but also inspire others and use their unique position and talents for good throughout their lives.”
Johnson & Johnson created the Hearts of Gold program to inspire the Beijing 2008 Olympians to make a difference in their communities and around the world—to help them realize that a true Olympian excels not only as an athlete, but also as a role model who influences the lives of others off the field.
Hearts of Gold includes numerous opportunities to support Right To Play, including a medal grants program and a live benefit auction on August 19th at the Johnson & Johnson Olympic Games Pavilion. As part of the Hearts of Gold program, Johnson & Johnson created an exclusive gift for the 2008 Olympians - a pair of beautiful, Chinese-themed bracelets that are specially designed to be personally enjoyed to commemorate one’s role as an Olympian and shared as a “thank you” with someone who supported the athlete’s journey to Beijing.
Three additional Olympians will be selected as Olympian Service Fellows in the coming weeks.
About Johnson & Johnson
Caring for the world, one person at a time ... inspires and unites the people of Johnson & Johnson. We embrace research and science—bringing innovative ideas, products and services to advance the health and well-being of people. Our 120,200 employees at more than 250 Johnson & Johnson companies work with partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion people every day, throughout the world. Johnson & Johnson is an Official Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a Worldwide Partner of the International Olympic Committee, and a Proud Partner of the United States Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Team.
About Right To Play
Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, build life skills, and foster peace for children and communities affected by war, poverty and disease. Right To Play has projects in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Top athletes from more than 40 countries already volunteer their support for the organization as Athlete Ambassadors. Right To Play programs aim to teach children important life skills and values, educate communities around health issues and disease prevention, encourage integration and tolerance and empower people to make a difference in their communities.
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