Olympic Silver Medalist Tim Morehouse and Jason Rogers Hit the Town for Fur-Free Night of Fun with the Humane Society of the United States and the Art Institutes

Jason and I with Nigel Barker Photographer and Judge on America's Next Top Model

The Humane Society of United States in collaboration with The Arts Institutes threw their fourth annual “Cool vs. Cruel” ceremony at the Bowery Hotel on Wednesday evening. In addition to celebrating fur-free fashion and treating guests to the eclectic sounds of DJs Albert Hammond of the Strokes and supermodel Agyness Deyn, the event honored the winner of the national animal-friendly fashion design competition (Gohar Rajabzadeh). The participating designers were in attendance along with other notables such as, Nigel Barker, Richie Rich, Marc Bouwer, Jay McCarroll, as well as your very own Olympic Medalists Jason Rogers and Tim Morehouse!   We had a great time for such a good cause!   We got to chat with Nigel a bit and learned that he had actually done fencing back in his school in England.  I’m always surprised by how many people have fenced! I think its way more than people realize.  I’ve never been much into fashion, but am starting to really appreciate the art form.  The outfits on display tonight were really amazing and we got to chat with some of the designers who proudly displayed their awards for winning the animal-cruelty free design contest.    The place was a packed house and it’s really good to see that even with the economy that most of the fundraisers are full.  

 Jason and I with supermodel Agyness Deyn

   

Jason Rogers and Tim Morehouse Share Olympic Lessons with Students from Boystown

Tucked away in Brooklyn is a small building where remarkable work is being done with some of New York City’s most at-risk children.  Jason Rogers and I had the privilege of visiting one of the Boystown New York locations today to meet their dedicated staff of teachers and social workers.   Most importantly, we got to address the students involved in the program.  We spoke to about 40 students about our Olympic experience and how we set our goals long before we could immediately achieve them and told them the importance for them to do the same thing.   We also demonstrated some fencing for them, shared stories from the Olympics and gave them a chance to check out our Olympic medals.  As a former teacher for three years, I can think of no better way to spend my morning than talking to kids and trying to inspire them. I hope we did a good job!  They were really great and you can see how much having such a caring environment is turning their lives around and providing them hope for a bright future.

BOYSTOWN: Boys Town is a beacon of hope for America’s children and families through its life-changing youth care and health care programs across the United States.   Partnering with families, our nonprofit, nonsectarian organization provides abused, abandoned and neglected children with a safe, caring, loving environment where they gain confidence to get better and learn skills to become productive citizens.  Boys Town works with communities and schools in order to meet the growing and more diverse needs of today’s children and families.  To learn more go to www.boystownnewyork.org