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So
here are the groups that I am currently involved with
one way or another:
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 RAINBOW
ENDOWMENT
With
less than 2% of all philanthropic dollars in the
United States targeted specifically to lesbian and
gay causes, the Rainbow Endowment has emerged as
one of the nation's top funding source to the LGBT
community. Through its grant making program, the
Rainbow Endowment has contributed nearly 2 million
dollars to organization that support HIV/AIDS and
breast cancer research and services, as well as
lesbian and gay arts, cultural and civil rights
groups. To date, the Rainbow Endowment has funded
over 80 non-profit organizations serving and
empowering the LGBT community.
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How it all got started...
Inspired by the
incredible strength and solidarity I witnessed during my
participation at the 1993 March on Washington, I wanted
to find a way to harness the economic power of the LGBT
community and really make a difference. Two years later,
my friends and I launched the Rainbow Credit Card
Program. In essence, we created a fund raising tool that
enables individuals to contribute to the LGBT community
through the simple act of using a credit card. Every
time someone uses a Rainbow Card credit card to purchase
an item, travel, dine, whatever, a portion of that
transaction goes directly to the Rainbow Endowment and
back out into the LGBT community. To learn more...http://www.rainbowcard.com/.
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LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY
As a member of the Laureus World Sports
Academy, I am proud to be a part of a unique
association of 41 of the greatest living sports
legends. Each year the Academy members
choose the winners of the Laureus World Sports
Awards and act as global ambassadors for the
Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a charitable
organization which uses the power of sport to
address social problems through a worldwide
program of sports related community development
initiatives. The Laureus Academy members share a
belief in the power of sport to break down
barriers, bring people together and to improve
the lives of young people around the world.
Since its inception, Laureus has helped almost
150,000 young people. Among the problems tackled
are AIDS awareness, drug and alcohol abuse,
anti-social behavior, street crime and landmine
risk. For more information see their web site at
http://www.laureus.com/.
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RETIREMENT HOME FOR
HORSES
This is a small place in
Alachua, Florida (just outside of Gainesville)
run by a fabulous English couple-Peter and Mary
Gregory. It is exactly what its name says - a
great place for horses to run and live out the
rest of their years without ever having to carry
someone on their back or having to pull a
carriage behind them.. Over the years Peter and
Mary have had a hard time saying no to animals
other than horses and so they have had quite a
collection of 4 legged creatures-pigs, sheep,
goats, dogs, cats, turkeys and I am sure a whole
of animals we don's know about. I have a horse
there, a quarter-horse named Mocha and she is
the queen of Sheba in her pasture.
Every
dollar donated here makes a big difference .What
you do is "adopt" a particular horse and you get
periodical updates on how your horse is doing.
There are volunteers who work wonders here and
Peter runs a tight ship. A good friend of mine,
Nora, drives up from Miami and works whenever
she has a chance.One day I hope to do some
volunteer work also, but first I have to get
tennis out of my system. I know, I know, I can
hear you saying yeah right, like that's gonna
happen this century soon enough. Check out their
web site at http://www.millcreekfarm.org/
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SAVE THE
RHINO
This is an organization
that was founded in the U.K. to help protect the
9 species of rhino in Asia and in Africa. When I
spent some time in Kenya a few years back, I met
one of the founders of Save the Rhino and of
course after seeing them in the wild-
particularly highly endangered black rhino, I
knew I wanted to get involved. The people
running this organization also run a very tight
ship and have already made a difference in
helping to save this magnificent mammal. The
rhino look kind of friendly and sleepy until you
get too close to them, like I did with a friend
once. In a car of course! This big black rhino
was eating peacefully, with its back to us when
apparently we got too close for its
comfort-maybe 30 yards. Well, this rhino went
from eating all hunched over and wheeled around,
standing ready to sprint, looking right at us in
a nanosecond. I couldn's believe how quickly she
turned around; I really didn's think an animal
as big as this could move so fast. When I was on
the "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" show in
2001, my winnings went to Save the Rhino and now
I just look forward to seeing a rhino in the
wild again and thanks to this organization we
all have a better chance to do so. Go to http://www.savetherhino.org/
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PETA- People for Ethical Treatment
of Animals
A great group that
has really made a difference in general public's
awareness on various issues, like what really
happens behind closed doors in factory farming,
how fur coats come into existence, and the
shabby treatment of mares in the making of
premarin. If you want to find out more, go to http://www.peta.org/
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 ART
GRAND SLAM
Here is something
you probably don't know about me - about 5 years
ago I was approached by Juro Kralik about an
interesting collaborative project by the two of
us. Juro is a graphic artist from Slovakia and
he had this wild idea of somehow combining
tennis and art. It ended up being much bigger
project than either one of us had anticipated.
All of the pieces you see will eventually be for sale. For more information on the art and the exhibits, go to www.artgrandslam.org or contact artgrandslam@martinanavratilova.com |
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 THE
SIERRA CLUB
You probably know
this one-an organization devoted to preserving
the environment in the U.S. They see problems
long before they become a problem and sometimes
have success in turning the tide. For more
information go to http://www.sierraclub.org/.
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METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCHES
Dedicated to social justice and
spiritual fulfillment, I like the fact that MCC
is willing to step up when something needs to
change in the world. It takes real guts to ask
difficult questions in the face of harrassment
and life-threatening situations. MCC has a
reputation of standing their ground about what
is right. To learn more, go to http://www.mccchurch.org/.
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So where are
the children, you ask. How come there is no
charity I give time or money to that helps
children? Well, I actually used to have a
foundation called the Martina Youth Foundation
that raised money for children in need. I
bankrolled the whole thing and created various
ways to raise money for the foundation. But in
the end it turned out to be more difficult to
give out money without getting in trouble. The
foundation was audited every year by the IRS -
even though they never found one dollar that was
out of place. And then there was the time that
the foundation gave scholarship support to a
student, because the scholarship from the school
itself was not enough for this kid to survive.
When the school learned of the additional monies
this student received from us, the student lost
the financial support from the school itself. So
the foundation gave money to help the student,
but the student ended in exactly the same
situation as before without the money from the
school - very frustrating! It all just didn's
make sense. So I gave up the foundation and
instead I have done different events over the
years for various children's charities. I
figured I could help raise the money and let
someone else give it away.
So there you
have it - some examples of where I get involved
and try to make a difference. That is where
being famous comes in very handy and useful, and
is an advantage that I am very happy to take. I
realize that it is easier to make a positive
difference when you have money to spare. But you
can do something even without a dime in your
pocket. You can always find somewhere where a
volunteer is needed-whether taking a few dogs
for a walk in an animal shelter, reading a book
to an elderly person in an old people's home,
holding an infant in a neonatal clinic, marking
turtle egg nests on the beach or picking up
trash along the highway for a mile or two. Find
what you are passionate about and go do it!
Whatever it is, know that every little bit
counts and bring a friend!!
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