Author Archives: Ben Young

Pride and Opportunity in Bolivia

Pride and Opportunity in Bolivia

Fundacion GOL Bolivia A long list of factors determine development and quality of life in a country. Reliable access to food, water, and shelter are at the top of the list. A little further down one might find education, reliable transportation, and representation in government. Few people would expect to find an actively maintained national […]

Making The Sweet Science A Little Sweeter

Making The Sweet Science A Little Sweeter

Since the 1800’s boxing has been referred to as the Sweet Science of Bruising because of its unique combination of strategy, forethought, and brute strength. To the untrained eye each three minute long round looks like a bloody slog of uncoordinated uppercuts and body blows, but with even a little insight, boxing quickly transforms into […]

Finding the Range with Shooting Touch

Finding the Range with Shooting Touch

By Ben Young Jasmine Bishop grew up in Maine and graduated from Thomas College with a BA and an MA in sport management. Matt McGinley is a Californian with a degree in Communications and the beginnings of a career in marketing and web development. Both Jasmine and Matt love basketball and in October 2015 they […]

Surfer Pour La Paix

Surfer Pour La Paix

    Surfing 4 Peace believes that if people can surf together they can also live together. Born out of a small surf contest in Israel in 2004, Surfing 4 Peace has grown into a multifaceted organization that strives to break down cultural and political enmity with surfing. In 2007 the group hosted a Surfing […]

Warriors at the Wicket

Warriors at the Wicket

The Maasai are a semi nomadic tribe that moved south from northern Kenya and settled near the Tanzanian border during the 16th century. Known for their reliance on cattle, colorful traditional dress, and intricate jewelry, the Maasai have successfully maintained much of their ancestral lifestyle in spite of an encroaching modern world. There are, however, […]

Giving Dignity to the Homeless

Giving Dignity to the Homeless

    The world stage is usually reserved for politicians, trend setting technocrats, and millionaire, multiplatinum artists. However, there is one event that elevates what many would consider the poorest, most disenfranchised members of society to stardom: The Homeless World Cup. The first Homeless World Cup was held in Austria in 2003, two years after […]

The Pride of Rugby

The Pride of Rugby

Though it lags far behind football (soccer) in almost every metric apart from hospitalizations, rugby is on even footing with the world’s most popular sport when it comes to simplicity. Certainly both sports have their fair share of obscure rules – ‘off side’ and the dangerous theatrics of the scrum come to mind – but […]

Loving the Waves in Rio

Loving the Waves in Rio

  Party mecca. Tropical paradise. Dangerous favelas. Christ the Redeemer. Whatever you think of when you hear about Rio de Janeiro, Brazil it’s probably not disability advocacy. But there’s a good argument it should be. In 1997, lifelong surfer Henrique Saraiva was shot in the stomach during a mugging gone wrong in Rio. The bullet […]