As you may have already noticed at the bottom of this Web site, the designer of the “Progress Avenue” theme, Chris Pearson, requests mention of OpenEducation.net, a site dedicated to tracking the changes occurring in education today.

One of the site’s most popular posts is entitled, “Athletics Do Offer Lessons that are Missing from the Classroom.”

The editor, Thomas Hanson, tackled a 2007 report called Sports Done Right. The report, which seeks to “refocus the athletic experience on its initial intent,” was done by a select panel of school leaders and student-athletes, working in conjunction with the University of Maine.

Sports Done Right “identifies seven basic core principles that form the basis for a sound amateur sports program. Though the focus is clearly on the middle and high school sports experience, the vast majority of the material could translate to the collegiate level as well” (OpenEducation.net, 2007).

Click Here to order a copy of the full report.

With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series off this weekend, Gillett Evernham Motorsports last night hosted soldiers from a local North Carolina National Guard unit that plans to deploy overseas in 2009. More than 100 uniformed troops and their families enjoyed food, pit stop demonstrations, entertainment and employee tours of the race shops. Friday night’s event marks the first public effort of Gillett Evernham Motorsports Soldier Outreach, an employee-created group dedicated to help the men and women along with the families of those in the military. The group plans future fundraisers to aid the unit and its families while the troops are overseas. Gillett Evernham Motorsports fields the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge of Kasey Kahne, the No. 10 Valvoline/Lifelock Dodge of Patrick Carpentier and the No. 19 Best Buy/Stanley Tools/McDonald’s Dodge of Elliott Sadler (GEM).

Lowe’s: Lowe’s Home Improvement and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson will be “Racing for Relief” at Chicagoland Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July to raise funds for the American Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of the recent Central U.S. floods and tornadoes. As part of Racing for Relief, the Red Cross logo will be displayed on the deck lid of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy. Lowe’s donated $48 for each lap Johnson completes in the July 12 Chicagoland 400, and will do the same at the July 27 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. In addition, if Johnson wins either race, Lowe’s will donate $4,800 per victory (Lowe’s Home Improvement). Note: Johnson completed all 267 laps at Chicagoland, finishing 2nd to winner Kyle Busch. Johnson’s effort raised over $12,000.

3M: American Red Cross supporter 3M has donated 300 tickets to the Great Lakes Blood Services Region to help promote participation in the life-saving collection effort. Through August 7, every person who donates at an American Red Cross blood drive in the Great Lakes region will be entered to win tickets to the August 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo at Michigan International Speedway. Also, Red Cross Racing also will have an exhibit at the 3M Car Care Auto Fair held at the track during the race weekend (3M).

Detroit Red Wings F Darren McCarty “tossed the gloves several times–to play fight — in the” charity hockey game to raise funds for the Driscoll Valley Children’s Hospital and the McCarty Cancer Foundation Wednesday night at RGV Ice Center in Hidalgo, Texas.

McCarty, along with former minor league teammate Joe Cirone, hosted the charity game featuring past and present Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees team members and Central Hockey League stars. Cirone is currently a candidate for the Bees head coaching position (KGBT4.com, 7/17).

Recently-retired New York Giants DE Michael Strahan hosted the third annual Michael Strahan/Dreier LLP Charity Golf Tournament in New York on June 29. This year’s event raised over $300,000 for the Children’s Rights and Keep a Child Alive organizations.

Strahan told PressPassTV: “We picked the charities this year because first of all they involve children. Secondly, they involve children’s rights and the … legal advocates for children who are abused. It was very important for us … to do something that was close to both of our hearts, which was helping children who really are in situations that they can’t control. That was our big thing for this year. And outside of that is Keep a Child Alive, to give medication for children in Africa with AIDS. Their parents have died or they have something that they cannot control. … I had the opportunity to go to Africa this year, and it was something that was close to me” (PressPassTV).

The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Elizabeth Schwinn writes under the header, “Compelling Stories Help a Charity Attract Gifts.”

Schwinn notes that the number of visitors who donated to DonorsChoose, which allows donors to give money to buy supplies for public-school teachers, “increased by 66 percent after the charity redesigned its home page to emphasize the stories of teachers who were seeking support through the charity.”

DonorsChoose VP of Consumer Marketing Erica Goldman said that the organization “put teachers’ requests in a more prominent position on its site.” She added that “not only did donations from visitors increase as a result, but the charity saw a 62-percent increase in the number of visitors who browsed the teachers’ stories.”

What’s Your Story? DonorsChoose makes “sure that every story contains the following elements: a hero, … a challenge, … an ally, … a happy ending.” (Click Here to read the entire article for an explanation).

As part of the happy ending, DonorsChoose “mails photographs and thank-you notes from the students and teacher to the donor” (The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 7/16).

In May, Progress Avenue featured a one minute promotional spot on Special Olympics that was part of a college class project. The same group has recently finished a longer documentary, entitled “Let Me Be Brave,” about Special Olympics.

Jose Mediavilla, one of the students in the group, wrote in an e-mail Progress Avenue:

“‘Let Me Be Brave’ was done as a Final Project for our Documentary Film Making class at Full Sail University, located in Winter Park, Florida. The team members are all a part of Full Sail’s Bachelor’s Degree Program.

“Our group chose the Special Olympics for several reasons. Most importantly it was a project that we all believed in. We already started working with the organization when we put together a commercial for them as a segment in our Digital Cinematography Class. Upon finishing the commercial we all wished that we could have done more for the Special Olympics. Our two month long course of Documentary took place just as the Special Olympics was holding their State Games. It was almost like fate had brought us the perfect opportunity to create a good project. Our Unit Production Manager for the project, Shawn Whitman, had volunteered with the organization prior to attending Full Sail. He had some good connection that helped jump start the project.

“Working with the Special Olympics was one of the best school projects I’ve ever participated in. I believe I could speak for the whole crew by saying that it was an honor and a privilege working along side the organization. It was a heart felt and very moving experience. I would recommend volunteering for the program to anybody out there willing to help others and give their time to the community.”

Linda Quirk is in the midst of an amazing 11-month adventure, running seven marathons on seven continents. Her effort is being chronicled at www.run7on7.com.

The 55-year-old mother of three and grandmother of three, Quirk has embarked on this journey in hopes of raising national awareness and $1 million for Caron Treatment Centers – a comprehensive addiction treatment provider that helped her stepdaughter achieve long-term health and recovery from chemical dependency.

Quirk’s marathon slate kicked off with the Boston Marathon this past April. Her complete schedule includes the harshest conditions a runner could face, from desert heat to sub-zero temperatures, as she is also running marathons in China, Easter Island, Africa, Iceland, Australia and Antarctica.

Starting Line: Quirk first embraced the opportunity to give back to Caron Treatment Centers while training for the Ironman in Hawaii. Caron’s innovative approach to treatment for chemical dependency was so instrumental in providing for her stepdaughter’s long-term health and on-going recovery. Quirk’s fundraising endeavor raised $52,000. After the race, Quirk regrouped with her stepdaughter, who was in recovery for two years, her two sons and husband. Quirk: “We had tears in our eyes. It was a very emotional moment for all of us” (Run7on7).

The AP’s Jimmy Golen reported that New England Revolution D Chase Hilgenbrinck “left the [team] and retired from professional soccer to enter a seminary, where he will spend the next six years studying theology and philosophy so he can be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest.”

Hilgenbrinck: “It’s not that I’m ready to leave soccer. I still have a great passion for the game. I wouldn’t leave the game for just any other job. I’m moving on for the Lord. I want to do the will of the Lord, I want to do what he wants for me, not what I want to do for myself.” He added, “I was putting up a bunch of barriers, saying I’m not worthy to be called to something like that. But, one by one, the barriers started to come down” (AP, 7/14).

Olympic Gold Medalist Edwin Moses is the Chairman of Laureus, which comprises the Laureus World Sports Awards, the Laureus World Sports Academy and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Collectively, these three elements harness the power of sports to promote social change and celebrating excellence in sports.

Laureus attracts groups of people who share a belief in the power of sports to break down barriers, to engage with others and to change the world for the better. The organization seeks to inspire hope and positive change for children around the world using sports as a unique social vehicle (Laureus).

In Miami, David Neal wrote that when Miami Heat C Alonzo Mourning was discussing his annual Zo’s Summer Groove on Sunday, he “could have been the voice of passion for any South Florida parent.”

Mourning: “‘’You guys realize the dilemma we’re facing, the epidemic here in South Florida and the state of Florida with kids not graduating from high school. And that’s unacceptable. It really is when you live in a state that’s very rich in resources.” Mourning added,” We need to do more to help our kids. We just can’t leave it to the public school system. The reason being, they’re continually cutting the budget. They’re cutting over $200 million from the public school system. Where’s the motivation for the teachers to continue to do their jobs?'’

Politics? Mourning: “Everybody’s telling me, `You should run for public office.’ Well, hell, naw. What are the politicians doing? I can get more done doing what I do now than sitting in a political seat. I’m going to continue to try to create great atmospheres. My dream is to try to implement the same programs we have over in the Overtown community [center] — try to implement those after-school programs, educational facilities [and] family-enrichment facilities across South Florida and beyond. So I’m excited about the opportunity” (Miami Herald, 7/14).