USA Wrestling Announces Landmark Fundraising Program to Assist Athlete Families

"Fuel The Dream" Family Program is believed to be the largest and
most extensive fundraising effort by a national governing body to
directly raise financial support for the families of U.S. Olympic
athletes
NEWARK, N.J. & COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
USA Wrestling, the National Governing Body in the United States
for the sport of amateur wrestling, today announced the formation of a
landmark fundraising initiative which will give financial support to
the families of athletes competing in Beijing for this summer's
Olympics. "Fuel The Dream" is believed to be the most extensive
fundraising effort to support families of Olympic athletes in the
United States, and will give those 18 who make the Olympic Wrestling
team an additional emotional boost for the games.

"It is a lifelong dream of all these great athletes to one day
make the Olympics, and many times the cost for their families to go
and see them fulfill those dreams in person is just too great," said
USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. "'Fuel The Dream' will
give those family members the financial support to experience the
Olympic moments with the athletes for the first time, which we think
will be both a huge emotional boost for our team and will help set the
standard for this type of effort for all sports into the future."

The program, which will begin immediately, will assist families
with expenses involved in seeing the athletes represent the USA in
Beijing. A full 50% of each donation will go, without any reductions,
to the individuals who have qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team
by winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas, Nev., June 13-15
at the Thomas & Mack Center. The other 50% goes to help train athletes
that will be on future World and Olympic Teams.

A special "Fuel the Dream" event will be held on June 21, in part
sponsored by the Hanson family, the owners of the Bernards Inn in
Bernardsville, N.J. The event will bring the 2008 Olympic Wrestling
Teams for a special send off to Beijing.

For more information and to donate for the program, visit
www.fuelthedream.org.

USA Wrestling
Gary Abbott, 719-598-8181 (o)
gabbott@USAWrestling.org
or
Jerry Milani, 212-356-4009 (o)
917/797-5663 (c)
jmilani@ifl.tv
or
Joe Favorito 212-356-4003 (o)
917-566-8345 (c)
jf@ifl.tv

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