Recently Outside Magazine posted an amazing article “Adventure Altruism All-Stars” that’s all about individuals who are changing the world (AKA Change Agents!)
These people are approaching tough topics from adventure-oriented angles, which makes them even cooler than your normal, run-of-the-mill Change Agent. (Not that Change Agents are usually boring or typical…but you get what I mean).
Deron and I took one look at these guys and zeroed in our cross-hairs—you can bet we hope to bring them into the Changents community sometime soon!
Dan’s role as a Change Agent began with a leisurely bike tour through…the Cambodian countryside? Yup. He and his bro Jared decided to donate their bikes to a local orphanage. 88 excited kids later, they decided to raise $$ through a non-profit and get each child their very own bike! It’s been three years and so far 88Bikes has given away hundreds of bikes to psyched kids in Uganda, Peru, and plans are underway for India, Nepal, and Vietnam.
Can an almost-felon be a Change Agent? Yes, if it’s for the right reason!
Tim is facing two federal felonies, ten years in prison, and $750,000 in fines. Why? Well this Change Agent bid (and won) $1.8 million worth of oil & gas rights near Arches National Park in Utah as a protest to drilling! Tim and his lawyer (who’s pro-bono of course) will be working to free him of charges. If he wins, then climate-change protestors will have a legal shield for this type of protest!
Reza’s not your ordinary athlete. He burned through 14 New Balance pairs of sneakers on his 3,300 mile trek from L.A. to New York—a journey to raise money for UNICEF. In 2007 he ran 11,720 miles around the perimeter of our nation in order to raise $$ for a kid’s hospital. A year later he biked 49,000 miles on a mission for goodwill. Next up? 85,000 miles on foot and paddleboat as an ambassador for peace throughout all the world’s countries. Crazy? Maybe. But totally awesome!
Brad’s not just a former Cosmo’s Bachelor of the Year—he’s also a pro kayaker (wonder if he knows Emily Jackson…) who’s all about building cancer patients’ confidence. His org, First Descents, was founded to provide the emotional cure to young cancer patients. He’s guided 600 individuals aged 18-39 down various waterways. "A week on the water reminds them that they're not fragile," he says. Sounds like the perfect prescription to me!
Blindness isn’t an issue you hear a whole lot about, compared to global warming and child hunger. But an issue it is, and Geoff is tackling it in Nepal! After seeing Dutch doctors cut out a blind woman’s eye, Geoff was inspired to make a difference. Along with a Nepalese doctor he started the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP). He’s training surgeons and raising money and materials for cataract surgery. The end goal: to eliminate preventable blindness, a condition that afflicts some 45 million people worldwide. "I still receive great satisfaction from standing on top of a mountain, but it's pretty minimal compared with watching a patient regain their sight," he says. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do."
Ben likes to say “"Everybody has their own medium, whether it's writing, music, computers, or artwork. Use it to create change."
He weapon of choice is the camera, but he’s definitely not a photojournalist. Instead, he uses his pictures to influence the story…to create change! He’s snapped pics of some amazing places including the Arctic in 2008 as a project to document global warming. "If you present scientific data to a group of people, not many are going to get it," he says. "But if you put a picture of a landscape in front of them, all of a sudden they have a personal experience with it, and they'll become inspired to save it."
David is by no means a beach bum, but he is one hard core surfer-dude slash Change Agent. At the age of 20 he gave up contest surfing and instead turned to marine conservation—a hobby that would lead to him staring in The Cove, a documentary about Japanese dolphin slaughter. What’s next? Kayaking along the Australian coast and following the humpback whale migration. David wants to pressure the Australian government to enforce whale-sanctuary laws in the waters where whales are in danger of Japanese hunters. Exciting!
December 23, 2009 - 7:36pm