what former skaters have gone on to selflessly inspire us?

I honestly don’t know. In the old days of skating before Peggy Fleming I truly don’t know much of those folks. I know Dick Button was Ivy League but did he do something great for humanity with his money or fame? I honestly don’t know with reading biographies of the skate Gods we have seen come and go... Tenley Albright became a surgeon. Where when and the rest I have no idea. I know a bit about Dorothy having read her book and the search for love that lasts seems to have taken up a lot of her focus. Scott Hamilton seems to be the one whose pr tells us he has done a lot of good works and by that I mean his yearly shows for cancer research and I think he adopted a couple kids who otherwise would have had very limited lives. Scott really prospered but so did many 90s skates after the whack. Anyone we can be very inspired by re good works?

Without complaining about Amazon from personal experience and their huge imprint on the economy I guess this came up because I was reading a thread and there was a link to Sasha interview, and whose skating I loved and lamented. Her heroes are Buffett and Tesla and yes Jeff Bezos and Wall street is where her path led. I’m sure many a skater wanted a nice life after traveling the world as a teen and many a skater was from a wealthy family as we know it’s a very very expensive sport, so I guess my social worker heart shouldnt be surprised. Please - no one tell me in these days where much is wrong and I personally struggle in every way that people can do as they please. I know. I have admired and envied billionaires too but besides Scott Hamilton can we talk about what wormer skaters did after retirement that is truly inspiring?

I need inspiration I guess and I’ll bet there are some great stories. I know Michelle Kwan has been very engaged in helping Democrats from Hillary to Harley in CA her home state. I don’t think she gets paid to do this work and it seems she did very well in the 90s and beyond and her family owns two ice rinks I believe so Michelle has money it seems that allows her time to pursue helping people through political causes. I’m glad to hear that and it uplifts me. I feel she has every reason to give back her great blessings and good fortune and it is uplifting to see how deeply Special Olympics is 8n her heart. Some actors actresses do good works when good pr is needed. Michelle has always seemed very sincere to me in her good works.

I must do payroll paperwork while I’d rather watch videos. So I am avoiding work lol but I guess I am not a Jeff Bezos fan and the interview hit a nerve for me.

I hope the folks here at GS will tell me stories about figureskaters who did very well in life and who gave back. I do know Yuna used to give money and her time to various causes when competing. I hope she is still a force for good in Korea and beyond. I’m a bit upset when I read millennials don’t vote and while I live in a state that is progressive I personally am worried about what happens next week and the ramifications for me and millions. I’m not making any political statement but in these dark times I would love to know of skaters I loved liked or didn’t even know of and what good they may have done in their second or third act? I see Sasha and Wall Street as a good fit but I cannot say I am inspired. Well what can you expect from a disabled social worker type like me? No one seems to join the Sisters of Charity these days lol and head off to Kolkata or do they????? ������

Kristina Lundgren is an ISU judge and was the USFSA team captain in charge of logistics for the figure skating contingent to the Olympic Games in PyeongChang. She skated in her youth and got pretty far up the testing ladder, although her real sport turned out to be long distance running. She has just finished up a three-year stint as chairman of the Ronald McDonald House in New York. (The Ronald McDonald House provides lodging and other services to the families of children undergoing cancer treatment. Jason Brown is one of the skaters who supports this charity by donating all his stuffed animals. ☺ )

Mrs. Lundgren is also vice chairman of Figure Skating in Harlem. Many prominent skaters have given their time and talent to this program that uses figure skating to motivate at-risk students in terms of education and self-confidence skills. Tanith Belbin, Tim Goebel and Evan Lysacek are on the advisory board, and Meryl Davis is heading up the expansion of the program into the Detroit area.

Alex Shibutani:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/35964abaa093cb2d6610189b6e613dc2/tumblr_oskskksJGm1tje632o1_500.jpg

Tina Lundgren at a Figure Skating in Harlem fundraising gala. with Meryl and Charlie, husband Terry Lundgren (CEO of Macy’s) and Michelle Kwan:

https://pmcwwd.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/harlem-figure-skating-02.jpg?w=1024

Mathman said:

Kristina Lundgren is an ISU judge and was the USFSA team captain in charge of logistics for the figure skating contingent to the Olympic Games in PyeongChang. She skated in her youth and got pretty far up the testing ladder, although her real sport turned out to be long distance running. She has just finished up a three-year stint as chairman of the Ronald McDonald House in New York. (The Ronald McDonald House provides lodging and other services to the families of children undergoing cancer treatment. Jason Brown is one of the skaters who supports this charity by donating all his stuffed animals. ☺ )

Mrs. Lundgren is also vice chairman of Figure Skating in Harlem. Many prominent skaters have given their time and talent to this program that uses figure skating to motivate at-risk students in terms of education and self-confidence skills. Tanith Belbin, Tim Goebel and Evan Lysacek or on the advisory board, and Meryl Davis is heading up the expansion of the program into the Detroit area.

Alex Shibutani:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/35964abaa093cb2d6610189b6e613dc2/tumblr_oskskksJGm1tje632o1_500.jpg

Tina Lundgren at a Figure Skating in Harlem fundraising gala. with Meryl and Charlie, husband Terry Lundgren (CEO of Macy’s) and Michelle Kwan:

https://pmcwwd.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/harlem-figure-skating-02.jpg?w=1024

Click to expand...

thats a great picture. Michelle really has matured into a beautiful woman. I wonder if she will consider running for Congress in California. I kind of doubt it given the awful climate and politics of personal destruction that seeems at it’s zenith.

I know YUNA IS VERY RICH maybe the richest figureskater ever. Yuna fans what does she do with herself in Korea these days? I imagine she is still super popular. I find myself wondering about skaters like Eldridge Botano and Wylie who did very well in those days when Tonya couldn’t work but skating was very lucrative. I recall Petrenko did a lot for his Ukraine in those post break up years.

skateluvr said:

No one seems to join the Sisters of Charity these days lol and head off to Kolkata or do they????? ������

Click to expand...

That's not the only way to do good in the world, you know.

Max volunteered his time as a celebrity waiter for the Make a Wish foundation every year.

Joshua set up a foundation to help athletes with post-concussion syndrome.

Jason gathers up all of the things people throw for him and takes them to the Ronald McDonald house - and encouages people to throw more.

You don't have to be in the media's eye, you don't have to be donating millions, you don't have to be in a slum in a foreign country to be doing good in the world. Sometimes it's the small things, too.

And quite apart from that, this isn't the immediate post-whack world anymore where the skaters were earning bucketloads. A lot of them probably can't afford big charitable donations. And someone who can donate buckets of money isn't necessarily a better person than the one who can't.

skateluvr said:

thats a great picture. Michelle really has matured into a beautiful woman. I wonder if she will consider running for Congress in California. I kind of doubt it given the awful climate and politics of personal destruction that seeems at it’s zenith.

I know YUNA IS VERY RICH maybe the richest figureskater ever. Yuna fans what does she do with herself in Korea these days? I imagine she is still super popular. I find myself wondering about skaters like Eldridge Botano and Wylie who did very well in those days when Tonya couldn’t work but skating was very lucrative. I recall Petrenko did a lot for his Ukraine in those post break up years.

Click to expand...

She’s going to show up at Javi’s ice show in December. Other than that, she gives some advice to Korean skaters, do CM modeling.

Meryl Davis has been starting a branch of Figure Skating in Harlem in Detroit.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/b...17/02/25/meryl-davis-figure-skating/98347306/

Meryl and Charlie are still involved with Classroom Champions.
https://www.bustle.com/p/what-happe...pic-ice-dancers-simply-needed-a-break-8228468

And from recent social media posts by both of them, they are back at college taking exams.

Mdk0144 said:

She’s going to show up at Javi’s ice show in December. Other than that, she gives some advice to Korean skaters, do CM modeling.

Click to expand...

I feel like she does more than that? I have been really busy myself lately but a quick skim of her instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkE7NBMhlob/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUQ5PwHBbjt/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKu0FcAhDyv/
https://twitter.com/Yunaaaa/status/761770111040573440
http://www.koreatimesus.com/ex-figure-skater-kim-yuna-donates-us100000-for-nepal-quake-relief/ <- donation to Nepal Earthquake victims
She seems involved with UNICEF and the Special Olympics. I would be very surprised if she suddenly became less generous after incurring more expenses. She was busy promoting the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics through early this year, so perhaps she has more time for other projects now. From an internet search, she is estimated to be worth 21 million USD now, and according to wikipedia, has donated at least 2.67 million USD through April 2015. So she has donated at least, and likely more than 10% oof her income. But regardless, many celebrities or rich people do not publicize all of their efforts.

axon said:

I feel like she does more than that? I have been really busy myself lately but a quick skim of her instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkE7NBMhlob/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUQ5PwHBbjt/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKu0FcAhDyv/
https://twitter.com/Yunaaaa/status/761770111040573440
http://www.koreatimesus.com/ex-figure-skater-kim-yuna-donates-us100000-for-nepal-quake-relief/ <- donation to Nepal Earthquake victims
She seems involved with UNICEF and the Special Olympics. I would be very surprised if she suddenly became less generous after incurring more expenses. She was busy promoting the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics through early this year, so perhaps she has more time for other projects now. From an internet search, she is estimated to be worth 21 million USD now, and according to wikipedia, has donated at least 2.67 million USD through April 2015. So she has donated at least, and likely more than 10% oof her income. But regardless, many celebrities or rich people do not publicize all of their efforts.

Click to expand...

Thanks for extra information!

karne said:

You don't have to be in the media's eye, you don't have to be donating millions ... , to be doing good in the world.

Click to expand...

Brighten the corner where you are. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto were always jumping up and pitching in wherever they could. When a big earthquake and tsunami devastated Indonesia, they organized a benefit show in Detroit, called in favors from all their skating friends to appear, and raised $25,000. A couple of years later they did it again to benefit a local cancer research hospital.

My absolute #1 favorite skating show of all time was a local club event headlined by Yuka Sato and ice dancers Faiella & Scali, and also featuring local skaters of all levels, from children to adult skaters, to raise money to defray hospital costs for the family of a young club member who was suffering from terminal illness.

karne said:

And someone who can donate buckets of money isn't necessarily a better person than the one who can't.

Click to expand...

I agree 100%.

I'm not that impressed by some big-shot celebrity that donates $1 million to the latest big newsmaking disaster.
Or gives a concert where all proceeds go to charity. Their fans are the ones donating hard earned money to the cause.
All they have done is performed a couple of hours for free AND gotten valuable publicity doing it.

I'm not belittling what they are doing, but it is usually built up into something greater than what it is.
However, the average person that donates their time and money is making just as valuable (and probably more valuable) a contribution.
The average person doesn't have a big surplus of time and money at their disposal.

Sorry for the rant....

Back to skaters, I think that Sarah Hughes is involved with some charitable causes both locally in her area (Great Neck, NY) and nationally.
I don't know how much time she spends on any of them, but she always impressed me as a "giving back to the community" type person.

I remember that she and her coach Robin Wagner used to be invloved with "Figure Skating in Harlem", and I think that she got involved with human rights issue after she visited the White House in 2002.

I know she graduated from Yale, and U Penn Law School. It will be interesting to see what areas of law she pursues.

Off topic

One thing that celebrities can do is bring attention to issues. If more women have their recommended mammograms because of Angelina Jolie, then that's a very good thing.

Not charity-related, but Ted Barton's devoted work and support towards making the JGP circuit accessible to viewers (free! on Youtube immediately! no commentary during skates! THE ARCHIVES!!!!!) and his gentle, empathetic support of all the young skaters is really inspiring. It's heartwarming to see how much he cares and loves this sport and everyone who participates in it. Would it be that every skating comp was done like the JGP series

lesnar001 said:

Back to skaters, I think that Sarah Hughes is involved with some charitable causes both locally in her area (Great Neck, NY) and nationally.

I don't know how much time she spends on any of them, but she always impressed me as a "giving back to the community" type person.

Click to expand...

Here is Sarah's public Linkedin page. (Pretty impressive.) She seems to be heavily involved in the Women's Sports Foundation (Billie Jean King's organization to advance opportunities for women and girls in sport).

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahhughesny

Another former U.S. skater who is generous with his time is Michael Weiss. He doesn't try to hog the camera, but his Michael Weiss Foundation has helped a lot of aspiring skaters over the years.

If we want to include skaters who are still competing, I think that Yuzuru Hanyu makes lots of appearances for charity without seeking public applause for his many acts of kindness.

Jeremy Abbott skates in and appears in many events that benefit Parkinson's Disease research and such.

His dad passed from the disease 3 years ago.

Many already have been mentioned above. I also would like to mention Yuzuru's efforts after the earthquake, which includes giving them his Olympic prize money, the right of his book, skating in several charity ice shows and giving them the profits of his Sendai march (I think it was the cost of the T-shirts, he also made sure that they were made locally so as to support the local industry). Also, he is a spokeperson for the blood donations in Japan.
Another one is Alexander Majorov who donated his bone marrow to his father some years ago.

To be fair, Yuzuru is (thankfully) not yet retired, so can I put in a word for the now-retired Japanese skaters who have been involved in the earthquake relief shows and efforts throughout the years?

skateluvr said:

thats a great picture. Michelle really has matured into a beautiful woman. I wonder if she will consider running for Congress in California. I kind of doubt it given the awful climate and politics of personal destruction that seeems at it’s zenith.

I know YUNA IS VERY RICH maybe the richest figureskater ever. Yuna fans what does she do with herself in Korea these days? I imagine she is still super popular. I find myself wondering about skaters like Eldridge Botano and Wylie who did very well in those days when Tonya couldn’t work but skating was very lucrative. I recall Petrenko did a lot for his Ukraine in those post break up years.

Click to expand...

Yuna is a CF queen in Korea. She's one of the highest paid celebrities for Korean commercials. What she did for the sport and for Korea has made her royalty at least in Korea. I mean I'd be more inclined to buy instant coffee with Yuna's face on it. Yuna donates a huge chunk of her money to charity. I believe she even made a speech in front of the UN! I still don't understand how ISU sleeps at night knowing they robbed a woman who devotes so much of her time and money to philanthropy.

skateluvr said:

...Tenley Albright became a surgeon...

Click to expand...

Tenley Albright did have a successful and rewarding career as a surgeon, in which she was known for taking personal concern and care for her patients. Her husband is Gerald W. Blakeley, former owner of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels and currently (I think he is still alive?) a high-roller as CEO of his own investment company. I assume that they are truly rich and active in many New England based charitable functions. She serves on the boards of several medical and scientific research organizations, such as the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Reasearh and the world famous Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole. She was the first women to serve on the U.S. Olympic Committee. I believe that she is still on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. She is proud of the fact that when she entered the Harvard Medical School there werre only 6 women in her class, but today's classes are 55% women.

Her husband was also President of the Morehouse College School of Medicine. He is heavily involved in the Boys and Girld Clubs of America, where he has been a board member for many years.

AND -- Mr. Blakeley sits on the board of governors of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where Michelle Kwan got her graduate degree in international law and diplomacy.

Here is Tenley Albright last March at the New York premier of "Rise," the movie about the 1961 plane crash that decimated U.S. figure skating.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...=IPYg6LWqUEBWH06el5itHR1-apDYj_cnkiFyfHItUxk=

(Lookin' good, lady!)

NymphyNymphy said:

I believe she even made a speech in front of the UN!

Click to expand...

Yuna for the Nobel Peace Prize!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F8KrBnGhzE

Mathman said:

Tenley Albright did have a successful and rewarding career as a surgeon, in which she was known for taking personal concern and care for her patients. Her husband is Gerald W. Blakeley, former owner of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels and currently (I think he is still alive?) a high-roller as CEO of his own investment company. I assume that they are truly rich and active in many New England based charitable functions. She serves on the boards of several medical and scientific research organizations, such as the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Reasearh and the world famous Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hole. She was the first women to serve on the U.S. Olympic Committee. I believe that she is still on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. She is proud of the fact that when she entered the Harvard Medical School there werre only 6 women in her class, but today's classes are 55% women.

Her husband was also President of the Morehouse College School of Medicine. He is heavily involved in the Boys and Girld Clubs of America, where he has been a board member for many years.

AND -- Mr. Blakeley sits on the board of governors of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where Michelle Kwan got her graduate degree in international law and diplomacy.

Here is Tenley Albright last March at the New York premier of "Rise," the movie about the 1961 plane crash that decimated U.S. figure skating.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photo...=IPYg6LWqUEBWH06el5itHR1-apDYj_cnkiFyfHItUxk=

(Lookin' good, lady!)

Click to expand...

Erm...The "Rise" film premier was in February 2011 and coincided with the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.