Voice 1
Thank you for listening to Spotlight, I’m Liz Waid
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
What would you do?
Voice 2
What would you do if you won an Olympic gold medal? How would you celebrate? What would you do with your new popularity? What would you do with the money you won?
Voice 1
Joey Cheek is an Olympic athlete, or sports player. In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Joey won a gold and a silver medal for the United States in Speed Skating. Speed Skating is a sport where people race on an ice track. They wear sharp metal blades on the bottoms of their shoes. The United States Olympic group gave Joey forty thousand dollards [$40,000] for winning those medals. Joey could have kept that money for himself. He could have used it to buy more equipment for his sport. He could have spent it on cars or houses or anything! But he decided to do something different. He decided to use his Olympic medals to make a difference in the world. He gave that money to a group called Right to Play. Today’s Spotlight is on Joey and the group he works with, Right to Play.
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We will talk more about what the group Right to Play is doing with Joey’s money later in the program. But first, let’s learn a little bit more about Olympic speed skater, Joey Cheek.
Voice 1
Joey began speed skating in 1995. He won a bronze medal at the Olympics in 2002. He was twenty-six [26] years old at the 2006 Olympics when he won the gold and silver medals. After those Olympics, Joey decided to retire from speed skating. He says that he has spent most of his life exercising his body. Now he wants to exercise his mind. Joey will attend college in the United States. He wants to earn a degree in Economics, the study of money and society.
Voice 2
Joey enjoyed his time as a U.S. Olympic athlete. But he says that American Olympic athletes are both blessed and self-serving, or selfish. American athletes are blessed by the resources they have in the United States. The United States values athletes. It gives them the money and support they need to compete. But Joey also says that athletes are selfish. They must think a lot about themselves. This is because they spend so much time trying to become the best at what they do. They always work to make their bodies stronger and faster. Athletes often do not have time to think about other people. They give all of their effort to become better at their sport.
Voice 1
But, Joey wanted to take a break from being a selfish athlete. He was ready to stop using all his time to make himself better. He wanted to use his time and resources to make the world better. And this is why Joey decided to give his Olympic medal money to the group called Right to Play.
Voice 2
Right to Play is a group that helps children in poor or war-torn countries develop and grow through sports. Right to Play believes that playing sports helps children develop into healthier adults. Sports help children form healthy relationships with other children. Competing in sports makes children feel more powerful. Sports teach children important life skills like learning to accept defeat. And sports are fun! All children, no matter where they live, deserve to have fun!
Voice 1
So how is Right to Play helping children to develop and grow through sports? How are they using the money they receive from people like Joey? Well, Right to Play is working in refugee camps in Africa. They use sports to teach children important life skills like working together, communication, fair play, and self worth.
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In the Middle East, Right to Play uses sports to build bridges and encourage peaceful relationships between Israeli and Palestinian communities.
Voice 1
And Right to Play employs famous athletes to educate people in Africa and around the world about AIDS and how to prevent it.
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Right to Play has a symbol that represents their work. This symbol is a red ball. Children use the red ball when they play sports. Right to Play uses the red ball as a teaching tool. And they give the red ball as a gift to every school, community and refugee camp they go to. There is a message written on the ball in different languages. The message says, “Look After Yourself. Look After One Another.” This is Right to Play’s message for the children of the world. They believe that sports teach children this important message. And they hope that the red ball will always help children to remember to look after, or take care of, themselves and other people.
Voice 1
Joey Cheek is one of many athletes who support the work that Right to Play does in the world. Many people ask Joey why he gives money to a group that encourages sports. Why not give money towards food and shelter instead? Joey believes that food and shelter are important. But he also believes that children need more than that. Children need to play with each other to develop their minds and hearts. They need the important skills that sports can teach them.
Voice 2
Famous athletes like Joey often receive money from large companies. These companies want Joey to use his popularity to sell their products. When Joey decided to give his Olympic money to Right to Play, he encouraged the companies who support him to do the same thing. And they did! By March of 2006, Joey had collected over three hundred thousand dollars [$300,000] for Right to Play.
Voice 1
Joey explains why his work with Right to Play is so important to him. He says,
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“Every morning, I would ask myself the same question. How can I use all my energy to be the best speed skater in the world? I have spent years doing this. And other people have spent years supporting me so that I could become the best in the world. Now I feel that it is important for me to give something back. It is important for me to give something to people who do not have the same resources and support that I did.”
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