Home2028 Olympic GamesLOS ANGELES FIRES: U.S. Olympians and Paralympians relief fund ready to offer aid to Olympians and Paralympians...

LOS ANGELES FIRES: U.S. Olympians and Paralympians relief fund ready to offer aid to Olympians and Paralympians with L.A.-area fire losses

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≡ OLYMPIC FAMILY RELIEF ≡

The Santa Ana winds were back up again in Southern California on Monday, but the relief work is already underway from the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, which are still not out.

KCAL9 Los Angeles shared a relief program for Olympians and Paralympians, explained by 1976 four-time Olympic gold medalist John Naber, a Pasadena resident who recently served as a U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee board member. Naber told correspondent Jaime Maggio at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center:

“There was an alumni association with which I was on board, and somebody came and said I have a friend who’s living out of a trailer and they’re stealing electric power from their neighbors and he’s an Olympian. Can we do something? And we passed the hat that afternoon raised about $6-700 and got him some prescription meds and some help. He passed away less than a year later but we all felt good about doing something.

“And so the [U.S. Olympians & Paralympians Relief Fund] has been doing that since 2006. We raise money from Olympians and Paralympians. We are run by a board of Olympians and Paralympians and we give money back to Olympians and Paralympians. It’s a very low-overhead, high-value proposition.

“We don’t solve their problems but we demonstrate solidarity with them and these grants can easily reach $5,000, which will not rebuild a burnt house, but it will make somebody feel like they’re part of this Olympic family one more time.

“Our grants are limited to Olympians and Paralympians who’ve hit a speed bump through no fault of their own. We call it accident, illness, injury, or natural disaster and we’ve had athletes who had eye cancer and the insurance covered the treatment but not the false new eyeball and so we paid for that.

“We’ve had athletes who’ve had commuting issues to get kidney dialysis and insurance will cover the procedure but the loss of work and the cost of travel [was not.]”

The organization was established by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee; Naber is the current President and inquiries for help can be made to Executive Director Cindy Stinger, a three-time handball Olympian.

Naber had to evacuate his home due to the Eaton Fire, but is back now:

“We’re back home now and feel greatly relieved but also a little bit guilty because of the remarkable suffering that our neighbors, our friends, a board member here at the Aquatics Center, lost a home. You know everybody knows somebody who’s suffering right now and this is the time where we need to be sensitive and helpful if we can.

“One of the things I’m really hoping that this interview can accomplish is that we can find Olympians who are too proud to ask for help but their house burned up or they lost their car and they’re entitled to apply for a grant.

“You can help them out a little bit and it it seems to matter and it allows us to remain part of that family.”

Naber also noted the true nature of being an Olympian and Paralympian:

“We say there’s no such thing as a former Olympian or Paralympian. You’re an Olympian for life and it’s a club you earn your way into and you can never lose your way out of it.”

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