Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Project Athena: Amazing Women Helping Amazing Women


What do you get when you put together five of the most intense and competitive female endurance athletes on the Planet to help other women combat breast cancer and other medical ailments? Why Project Athena of course!

The Project Athena Foundation is was put together by Robyn Benincasa, Melissa Cleary, Louise Cooper, Danelle Ballengee, and Florence Debout. Together, they are five of the most talented athletes in the world, having finished off countless marathons, won dozens of adventure races (including EcoChallenge and Primal Quest), and summitted more than their fair share of mountains as well.

These amazing women, some of whom are legends in the endurance sports world, have teamed up to aid other women as they fight breast cancer and other medical afflictions. Each quarter they will select worth recipients to receive a scholarship and "Athenaship". Those funds, which will come completely from public donations, will be used to encourage these women to not just survive their ailment, but to overcome it and go on to strive to do great things, such as competing in an adventure race, climbing a mountain, or taking part in a local 5k race. They want to encourage these women to chase their dreams and to aspire to be more like Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom and War, something that these five women clearly epitomize.

I really like the goals and philosophy of Project Athena. The fact that they are encouraging women to not just be survivors but to grab life by the horns and fully embrace an adventure, is very appealing. I hope that this endeavor is wildly successful for the Team. But then again, when you consider who these women are, that seems like a foregone conclusion.

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