Long before he was a five-time Mr. Universe, before he was Conan the Barbarian or the Terminator or the Governor of California, Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger was a skier. This past weekend, he shared his passion for skiing with 60 underprivileged kids at California's Mammoth Mountain.
The weekend served as a major fundraiser for the After-School All-Stars, a non-profit organization that Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver formed in 1992. The program gives at-risk kids with working parents a place to go at the end of the school day where they can further their academic and athletic pursuits. In the nearly two decades since the program launched, After-School All-Stars has grown to include over 80,000 kids at some 450 schools across the country.
For the past three years, 60 of those kids -- hand-picked for excellence in attendance, improving grades and leadership skills -- have received all-expenses paid trips to Mammoth. The hope, according to Schwarzenegger, is that the experience can inspire these school children to bigger and better things.
As Schwarzenegger told participants last year, "There are many, many people that have been there to help me along the way ... Life is about everyone getting an equal chance and everyone helping each other. That's why it is our responsibility to do everything that we can, so that you can have the same joy."
This weekend, he enjoyed springtime snow conditions at Mammoth. "Sports in general are a very important component for the kids," Schwarzenegger told Powder Magazine this weekend. "When you promise them you are going to take them on a ski camp, they get into a high."
Schwarzenegger has long been celebrated for being a fast and relentless skier, a reputation that caused Sun Valley -- a place where Schwarzenegger famously broke his leg while skiing in late 2006 just prior to his inauguration -- to name one of their more challenging black diamond runs after him.
Source : sports.espn.go.com
The weekend served as a major fundraiser for the After-School All-Stars, a non-profit organization that Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver formed in 1992. The program gives at-risk kids with working parents a place to go at the end of the school day where they can further their academic and athletic pursuits. In the nearly two decades since the program launched, After-School All-Stars has grown to include over 80,000 kids at some 450 schools across the country.
For the past three years, 60 of those kids -- hand-picked for excellence in attendance, improving grades and leadership skills -- have received all-expenses paid trips to Mammoth. The hope, according to Schwarzenegger, is that the experience can inspire these school children to bigger and better things.
As Schwarzenegger told participants last year, "There are many, many people that have been there to help me along the way ... Life is about everyone getting an equal chance and everyone helping each other. That's why it is our responsibility to do everything that we can, so that you can have the same joy."
This weekend, he enjoyed springtime snow conditions at Mammoth. "Sports in general are a very important component for the kids," Schwarzenegger told Powder Magazine this weekend. "When you promise them you are going to take them on a ski camp, they get into a high."
Schwarzenegger has long been celebrated for being a fast and relentless skier, a reputation that caused Sun Valley -- a place where Schwarzenegger famously broke his leg while skiing in late 2006 just prior to his inauguration -- to name one of their more challenging black diamond runs after him.
Source : sports.espn.go.com
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