Earlier this month, 20 athletes representing the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding headed Tijuana, Mexico to build a home for a family in need.
This was the second year athletes have made the pilgrimage south, led by Hope Sports—a nonprofit founded by professional cyclist Guy East that helps promote personal growth and community among athletes through short-term service trips. Riders and skiers of all ages joined the trip—Olympic medalists, stars from the Rev Tour, Youth Olympic Game attendees and everyone in between.
After landing in Tijuana—and a fierce soccer game on the Hope Sports campus—the athletes met the family they would be building for and toured their old home. They were the Lopez Gonzalez family—mom Aldaneli, dad Juan Carlos and their adorable 3-year-old son Ian. The three lived in a small plywood shack with tarps stapled to the walls to keep out the cold and rain.
The Lopez Gonzalez family stand in front of their old house.
The first day saw the athletes learning how to use power tools, frame walls and paint. Their Olympic-levels of motivation and determination meant they kicked it into high gear and got right to work. By the end of the day, the house had taken shape, with young Ian applauding as the walls went up.
“I didn’t think we were going to build everything from scratch. I thought we’d be doing small things, rather than us being up on the roof doing the whole project ourselves,” said Jake Vedder, snowboardcross athlete and 2016 Youth Olympic Games gold medalist. “It’s cool because we were hands-on and a huge part of it.”
On day two, the athletes shingled the roof and finished the inside of the home with drywall and electrical wiring. They also donated over $500 of their own money to take the family shopping. The Lopez Gonzalez family returned from their shopping spree to find the house finished, furnished and ready for a fiesta. After a brief ceremony to hand over the keys, the athletes celebrated with some homemade ceviche, courtesy of Aldaneli.
The weekend was bookended by talks from Dr. Ben Houltberg—a renowned sports psychologist—and Dr. J. Ashley Null—three-time Olympic chaplain and world-famous historian. Both encouraged athletes to step beyond their latest results and strive to lead a purpose-driven life.
“Seeing how bad the poverty is here—it’s worse than you even imagine in your mind,” said Devin Logan, 2014 Olympic silver medalist in slopestyle skiing. “I’m now so much more grateful for everything I have. Knowing that our worst days are their best days is very humbling.”
3-year-old Ian grins after seeing his new home.
Snowboarder Lyon Farrell echoed Logan’s sentiments. “This trip is something I’ll always carry with me,” said Farrell. “It opened my eyes to want to do more things like this. I didn’t think that it would affect me in that way, and it inspired me to want to do more. I think this kickstarted my passion for giving back.”
U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding athletes wish to thank the generous donors who made this trip possible.
PARTICIPATING ATHLETES
U.S. Ski Team
Keely Cashman (Strawberry, CA)
Nellie Rose Talbot (Vail, CO)
Emily Cook (Belmont, MA)
U.S. Freeskiing
Jacob Beebe (Bend, OR)
Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, CO)
Cameron Brodrick (Mammoth Lakes, CA)
Eddie Gildea (Boston, MA)
Jaxin Hoerter (Breckenridge, CO)
Devin Logan (West Dover, VT)
Nikita Rubocki (Boise, ID)
Darian Stevens (Missoula, MT)
U.S. Snowboarding
Nik Baden (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Lyon Farrell (Haiku, HI)
Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, UT)
Zoe Kalapos (Vail, CO)
Hailey Langland (San Clemente, CA)
Hailee Mattingley (Sandy, UT)
Jake Pates (Eagle, CO)
Karly Shorr (Milford, MI)
Jake Vedder (Pinckney, MI)
All photos courtesy of Danielle Fucs.
