August 13, 2012 - High School Athletes Vie to Win Gold
2012 M Award submissions due by midnight on April 30, 2012
August 1, 2011 - High School Athlete Wins Gold
Mitch Arnold Honored as Inaugural Winner of the M Foundation's Most Prestigious Award
September 13, 2010 - World-Class Athletes Debut M-Foundation
MISSION Athletes to Inspire “Citizen-Athletes” All Over America
September 8, 2010 - Billie Jean King Joins the 'MISSION'
Sports Icon Joins Top Athletes as Co-Founder of The M Foundation to Support Performance and Benefit Charity
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HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES VIE TO WIN GOLD AS THE M FOUNDATION'S
PRESTIGIOUS AWARD MOVES TOWARD THE CULMINATION OF ITS SECOND YEAR
Celebrity Athletes Excited To Bring Attention to Student-Athlete Role Models Who Serve Others With Excellence
New York, August 13, 2012 - Launched in September 2010, The M Foundation is a revolutionary non-profit organization that inspires young athletes to lead healthy lifestyles and to perform their best both within and outside the competitive arena - through activation and awards programs - most notably, The M Awards. The 2012 M Award winners will be announced at special events in New York and Los Angeles.
The M Awards, a national scholarship program which is championed by The M Foundation's world renowned athletes and spotlight "Athletes on a Mission" everywhere, identifies high school athletes who are exemplary role models in their communities. In its first year (the 2010-2011 academic year), The M Foundation recognized over 40 high school student athletes with Bronze and Silver M Awards, and named one overall Gold M Award winner.
Winners for each prize are selected by a panel of judges consisting of Mission AthletecareTM brand executives, The M Foundation staff and Mission brand athlete partners including David Wright, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Mia Hamm, Dwight Howard and Serena Williams, among others. Selection is based on criteria of outstanding community service, demonstrated athletic leadership and a strong commitment to a healthy athletic performance.
Based on these criteria, the esteemed panel of judges chose Mitch Arnold, an eighteen year old high school athlete from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin to be the inaugural Gold M Award winner for his outstanding commitment to service and dedication to giving back. Arnold was presented with a $20,000 check - a $10,000 college scholarship and a $10,000 donation to charity - courtesy of The M Foundation in conjunction with Mission AthletecareTM, Modell's Sporting Goods and The David Wright Foundation. The presentation took place behind home plate at Citi Field last August prior to a Mets game.
"We were extremely proud to present Mitch Arnold with the first ever Gold M Award for his exceptional leadership both on and off the field, and for his outstanding commitment to give back to children around the world who share his love and passion for soccer," said Jim Van Eerden, Executive Director of The M Foundation. "We're now preparing for the 2012 M Award winner announcements, to continue our commitment to showcase role models who show the difference of what it means to be an 'Athlete on a Mission.'"
As David Wright put it at the 2011 Gold M Award presentation, "The true meaning of an athlete is not only to perform on the field but to leverage those abilities in the community as well. The M Awards educate and inspire other student-athletes across the nation."
To learn more about The M Awards or to nominate a student-athlete, visit www.theMawards.org or register at www.beRecruited.com. For more information about the mission and work of The M Foundation, visit www.theMfoundation.org.
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE WINS GOLD AS INAUGURAL WINNER OF
THE M FOUNDATION’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD
Mitch Arnold, Fort Atkinson, WI High School Soccer Star and Role Model
To be Honored With ‘Gold M Award’ On-Field by New York Mets Superstar David Wright
$20,000 M Foundation Prize to be Presented at Citi Field on August 1, 2011
in Conjunction with Modell’s Sporting Goods and The David Wright Foundation
NEW YORK, August 1, 2011 – Launched in September 2010, The M Foundation is a revolutionary non-profit organization that inspires young athletes to lead healthy lifestyles and to perform their best both within and outside the competitive arena – through activation and awards programs – most notably, The M Awards. The M Awards, a national scholarship program which are championed by the Foundation’s world renowned athletes and spotlight “Athletes on a Mission” everywhere, identifies high school athletes who are exemplary role models in their communities. In its first year (2010-2011 academic year), The M Foundation recognized over 40 high school student athletes with Bronze and Silver as well as one overall Gold award winner being announced.
Winners for each prize are selected by a panel of judges consisting of Mission Athletecare™ brand executives, The M Foundation staff and Mission brand athlete partners including David Wright, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Mia Hamm and Serena Williams, among others. Selection is based on a criteria of outstanding community service, demonstrated athletic leadership and a strong commitment to a healthy athletic performance.
Based off of this criteria, the esteemed panel of judges chose Mitch Arnold, an eighteen year old high school athlete from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin to be the inaugural M Foundation Gold M Award winner for his outstanding commitment to service and dedication to giving back.
Arnold will be presented with a $20,000 check – $10,000 college scholarship, $10,000 donation to charity – courtesy of the M Foundation in conjunction with Mission Athletecare™, Modell’s Sporting Goods and the David Wright Foundation. The presentation will take place behind home plate at Citi Field on Monday, August 1st with New York Mets All-Star David Wright, President, Mission Athletecare Founder and President Josh Shaw and CEO of Modell's Sporting Goods Mitchell Modell.
In addition, from August 1st-August 15th Modell’s Sporting Goods will celebrate Mitch Arnold’s achievements by donating one dollar from every Mission Athletecare purchase to the M Foundation.
“We are extremely proud to present Mitch Arnold with the first ever Gold M Award for his exceptional leadership both on and off the field, and for his outstanding commitment to give back to children around the world who share his love and passion for soccer,” said Cathy Cercena, Executive Director of the M Foundation. “Mitch is a leader, a role model and a shining example of what it means to be an "Athlete on a Mission."
“The true meaning of an athlete is not only to perform on the field but to leverage those abilities in the community as well,” said David Wright. “Mitch embodies everything an athlete should aspire to be and we’re honored to present him with the inaugural Gold M Award so he can continue to educate and inspire other student athletes across the world.”
Arnold’s mission mirrors that of the M Foundation in that he seeks to educate and inspire. In October 2006 he created a foundation called “Peace Is the Goal,” an organization created to spread goodwill throughout the world by way of soccer. By supplying children in need with new soccer equipment, Arnold is giving kids a positive outlet, providing physical education, team-building and morale-boosting activities.
Since the inception of “Peace Is the Goal,” Arnold has completed 106 projects which have led to the shipment of nearly $20,000 worth of soccer equipment and has impacted more than 15,000 children in 53 countries including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kosovo, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and the United States.
Arnold added, “I want to thank the M Foundation for choosing me as the inaugural Gold M Award winner. I feel blessed to be recognized and honored by such a phenomenal entity and by athletes whom I’ve admired throughout my entire life.”
To learn more about The M Awards or to nominate a student-athlete, visit www.theMawards.org or register at www.beRecruited.com. For more information about the mission and work of The M Foundation, visit www.theMfoundation.org.
World-Class Athletes Debut The M Foundation
MISSION Co-Founders Establish Fund to Support and Inspire Next Generation of Athletes
September 13, 2010 – MISSION Skincare®, the first athlete-engineered® skincare line, is proud to announce the launch of The M Foundation™, a non-profit organization committed to promoting healthy athletic performance on the field, and simultaneously recognizing charitable achievements of young athletes off the field.
“We’re thrilled to be leading the way in educating and inspiring the next generation of altruisticminded
athletes. With role models like Serena Williams, Mia Hamm and David Wright involved,
we’re showing young athletes the way to be true leaders in the world,” says Ray Sozzi, Executive
Director of The M Foundation. “This ground-breaking foundation is poised to make a difference in
the lives of young athletes across the U.S. and around the world.”
With the introduction of The M Foundation, MISSION Skincare is encouraging athletic prowess in a dynamic way that raises the bar for socially conscious companies everywhere. The beneficiary of MISSION Skincare’s “blended value” enterprise, The M Foundation ignites the social impact objective of the brand forged by some of the world’s greatest athletes such as Serena Williams, Steve Nash, David Wright, Billie Jean King, Mia Hamm, Amanda Beard, Sergio Garcia, Georges St-Pierre, Gretchen Bleiler and Alonzo Mourning. At the core of The M Foundation are athletes “on a mission” to educate and inspire America’s youth to perform their best within and outside the arena of athletic competition.
“It’s an honor to be part of this groundbreaking cause,” stated Billie Jean King. “We are excited to inspire the next generation of athlete role models and The M Foundation is set up to do just that.” MISSION Skincare is committing $1 million of initial funding to The M Foundation to help meet its two main objectives: to educate young athletes about healthy athletic performance and to inspire young athletes to perform off the field of play with their charitable work. On an ongoing basis, the company will be contributing 10% of its operating profits to help fund the foundation and, for their launch, the co-founders behind MISSION Skincare have agreed to donate 100% of the profits from all product sales at MISSIONskincare.com for the next 60 days to The M Foundation.
M Foundation Research & Awareness Initiative
On the research and awareness front, The M Foundation will fund specific athlete-focused surveys, studies and research to better understand current health risks affecting young athletes, and identify potential solutions to address and minimize those risks in the future. The M Foundation research programs will be overseen by world-renowned Sports Dermatologist, Brian B. Adams, MD, MPH, and will cover a wide variety of studies ranging from propensity of melanoma in outdoor athletes to staph and related infections due to locker-room and hygiene habits. “I’m very proud to be part of The M Foundation and help lead the charge in research, development and solutions for the health of today’s young athletes,” says Dr. Adams. “I’ve conducted and published countless studies on the health risks associated with collegiate athletes, and I’m excited to leverage those experiences and findings to both study and support the younger generations of athletes in high school and middle school.” Once complete, The M Foundation will share its findings with the media and young athletes and increase awareness of these critical issues. More information on the foundation’s first research study can be found on The M Foundation website (www.theMfoundation.org).
The M Awards™ – Student-Athlete Recognition
The M Foundation will also identify and award young athletes who embody the same core values of the MISSION Athletes by taking an active role in supporting their community. The first M Awards program is focused on varsity-level high school athletes. Recognition M Awards will be presented once a week throughout the academic year, and every month, one of the four M Award recipients will be granted an M Award Scholarship for college. At the end of the year, one award winner will be selected to receive a $10,000 college scholarship and will also have a $10,000 donation made in their name to the local charity of their choice. From coaches to parents and friends, anyone can nominate a student-athlete for the M Awards.
Athletes and their advocates will be able to submit applications for M Awards on The M Foundation website (www.theMfoundation.org), and they can also apply through www.beRecruited.com the country’s No. 1 online networking destination for high school student-athletes seeking recruitment from college coaches and universities. Once chosen (selected by an advisory board including MISSION’s co-founding athletes), the student-athlete will be featured on The M Awards website (www.theMawards.org), as well as the beRecruited website.
About MISSION Skincare®
In 2008, MISSION Skincare® was launched as a “blended value” enterprise, fusing insights from some of the most celebrated athletes in the world with insights from leading skincare scientists and dermatologists to create the world’s first and only line of Athlete-Engineered® skincare products. They came together to develop a line of sophisticated formulations designed to protect, strengthen and hydrate skin, helping anyone with an active lifestyle to prepare, perform and recover from any type of exercise.
MISSION Skincare is available at select sports specialty and health & beauty retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lady Foot Locker, Sport Chalet, GNC and CVS/pharmacy, as well as at www.MISSIONskincare.com.
For additional information about The M Foundation, MISSION Skincare products, athletes,
retailers and charitable efforts, please contact
Laura Bierbaum, Meghan Bailey or Irissa Sheikowitz of
Behrman Communications at 212.986.7000, or via email
lbierbaum@behrmanpr.com/mbailey@behrmanr.com/isheikowitz@behrmanpr.com
Billie Jean King Joins the 'MISSION'
Sports Icon Joins Top Athletes as Co-Founder of The M Foundation to Support Performance and Benefit Charity
September 8, 2010 [PRNewswire] -- Sports icon and humanitarian Billie Jean King has been named a co-founder of MISSION Skincare®, the first and only line of Athlete-Engineered Skincare® products.
King is the latest sports legend to join forces as co-founder of the revolutionary brand, which is filling the void in the marketplace for performance personal care and skincare products. King also joins an elite team of some of the world's greatest athletes who serve as Advisory Board Members and “Athlete Ambassadors” for The M Foundation, including champion golfer Sergio Garcia, tennis superstar Serena Williams, two-time league MVP Steve Nash, MLB All Star David Wright and two-time Gold Medal soccer player Mia Hamm, among others. In addition to working closely with athletes in product innovation, MISSION Skincare® proudly supports The M Foundation and its charitable work with the charities of its partners and athletes.
"I'm very excited to help advance MISSION's cause," says King. "I may have played my last professional tennis match years ago, but I remain committed to helping people excel as both athletes and socially impactful human beings. I'm proud to be part of the MISSION team because not only do I use their products, I know their products are better for me and so many other recreational and professional athletes."
King won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles, including a record 20 championships at Wimbledon. She empowered women and educated men when she defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the greatest moments in sports history – the Battle of the Sexes on Sept. 20, 1973 and was named one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" by Life magazine. King founded the Women's Tennis Association, the Women's Sports Foundation, and co-founded World Team Tennis, the groundbreaking co-ed professional tennis league.
"Billie Jean is certainly a powerful addition to The M Foundation team," says Ray Sozzi, Executive Director of The M Foundation. "She's a ground-breaker, a sports legend, and coupled with her charitable and social impact work, she's an ideal partner in our effort to educate and inspire young athletes relating to health-performance and charitable causes.”
Through The M Foundation, some of the world’s greatest athletes are working together to inspire “citizen-athletes” everywhere in a common mission: to make the world better as they make themselves and their teams better.
For additional information about The M-Foundation, MISSION Skincare products, athletes, retailers and charitable efforts, please contact:
Laura Bierbaum, Meghan Bailey or Irissa Sheikowitz of Behrman Communications at 212.986.7000, or via email:
lbierbaum@behrmanpr.com; mbailey@behrmanr.com; or isheikowitz@behrmanpr.com
