Our Olympic athletes are asking for Canadians to extend a hand to help them reach the 22-inch-high gold podium, and an 11-year-old Calgarian was the first in the country to do so.
On Thursday a national online campaign was launched at Canada Olympic Park to raise a minimum $5 million through individual donations of $20.10 that will go directly towards the Own the Podium program, which seeks to meet the $110-million mark with government-matched funds.
Nikki Hohmann, a student at John Costello Catholic School, saved her own nickels and dimes to make the first online donation at the kickoff yesterday where her mom Angela provided the credit card.
“I think it’s important to help the athletes stand on the podium,” the young skier and future Olympic hopeful said.
Ryan Blais, a member of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team in training for the 2010 Olympics, said athletes face tremendous financial burdens during their training, and funding like this makes all the difference.
“We have less than one year to go,” he said. “Every day counts and every detail counts.”
Donations are tax eligible and can be made at www.olympicfoundation.ca.
