Summerland's Kristi Richards, who lives in Pemberton, has distributed another $10,000 in grants for her charity, the Supporting the Dream Legacy Fund.
This is the fourth year for the fund, established by Richards to give athletes from the Okanagan area a boost.
Most of the money is raised at a fundraiser in her hometown of Summerland in the fall, with the grants going out mid-summer.
"We were able to distribute $10,000 this year thanks to a very successful 'To Russia with Love' fundraising event," said Richards.
The grants will be split up and $1,000 given to each of 10 athletes. Recipients include mogul skier Andi Naude from Okanagan Falls, first in the 2011 Canada Games; mogul skier Connor Spence from Penticton who won a silver at the Canada Post Junior Nationals and halfpipe specialist Hunter Visser of Penticton, the current Canadian junior halfpipe champion. Both Naude and Spence have also been accepted to the Whistler Mogul Academy, an elite national program offered by he Canadian Freestyle Ski Association.
Other recipients are Kelsey Anderson (rhythmic gymnastics), Malindi Elmore (track and field), speed skaters Alison Banwell and Nick Goplen, and cross-country skiers Alysson Marshall, Adrienne Underhill and Heather Mehain.
"If it wasn't for the outpouring of community support that I received as a young athlete there is no way I could have reached my goals," said Richards, "that's why I'm so motivated to give back."
