Tammy Cunnington, Tara Llanes, and Marissa Papaconstantinou are among a group of 52 Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have received Athletes for Good Fund grants to support their respective charitable causes.
The program, created by Procter & Gamble alongside the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, provides each athlete’s selected charitable organization with a USD $10,000 grant.
Cunnington, a Rio 2016 Paralympian in swimming, is supporting Fast and Female which focuses on keeping young girls healthy and active in sports. Cunnington is a R.E.A.L. (Relatable, Empowered, Active Leaders) role model for the organization and works to give girls, especially those with physical disabilities, positive sport experiences which in turn develops life skills.
Llanes is supporting Whistler Adaptive Sports Program, with the grant helping to purchase additional adaptive equipment to allow more people with a disability to enjoy the outdoors. Llanes, a member of the gold medal-winning women’s wheelchair basketball squad at the Lima 2019 Parapan Am Games, has played a key role in adding adaptive mountain biking to their programming.
“I am incredibly honoured to be selected as an Athletes for Good Fund recipient and to have Whistler Adaptive receive a USD $10,000 grant,” said Llanes. “Having worked with them to add adaptive mountain biking to their sports program – resulting in adding three adaptive mountain bikes which are now insufficient to meet the overwhelming demand – this grant comes at a perfect time, adding another bike and with it the opportunity for many more people with disabilities to enjoy nature and spend time with their friends and families on the trails."
Paralympic sprinter Papaconstantinou is a longtime ambassador of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, helping to raise awareness of the importance of their work caring for children with a disability and needing assistance after illness or injury. She also acts as a role model and mentor to the children so they can see what is possible and achieve their own goals.
The Athletes for Good Fund distributed more than USD $500,000 in grants worldwide, helping to highlight the great work athletes do to make a difference in their own communities, and encourage more positive social change globally. For more information, click HERE.
