Indiana Student-Athlete and Community Role Model Erin Bundy Named 2013 Winner of The Gold “M” Award
Industry: Education
$10,000 prize presented by New York Mets David Wright on behalf of sponsors Mission Athletecare, David Wright Foundation and LRLRFM.com
New York, NY (PRUnderground) October 10th, 2013
Erin Bundy, an exemplary student-athlete from Knightstown, Indiana, has been selected as the 2013 Gold winner of The M Award, a national scholarship program which identifies high school athletes who are exemplary role models in their communities. She was interviewed today about the award.
“I am deeply honored that athletes like Mia Hamm have made this honor in my life possible,” Bundy said. “She personifies what it is to be an ‘Athlete on a Mission’ and young student-athletes like me can learn a lot from her example.”
Hamm and other athletes including Dwight Howard, Hunter Kemper and Carmelo Anthony have reached out to Bundy through viral video, tweets and social media to congratulate her on the award.
Bundy was presented with her award and a $10,000 check by New York Mets All-star David Wright on September 29 at Citi Field in New York. The winner was selected by a panel of judges consisting of Mission Athletecare™ brand executives, The M Foundation staff and Mission brand athlete partners. Selection is based on the criteria of outstanding community service, demonstrated athletic leadership and a strong commitment to a healthy athletic performance.
“We sorted through thousands of applicants and, based on all of the criteria, the esteemed panel of judges chose Erin for her outstanding commitment to service and dedication to giving back,” said Jim Van Eerden, Program Director for The M Awards.
Bundy receives $10,000 – a $5,000 college scholarship plus a $5,000 donation to a charity she chooses – presented by MISSION Athletecare and the David Wright Foundation, and sponsored by LeftRightLeftRightForwardMarch!, a non-profit foundation that champions the efforts of politically diverse Americans to promote the common good.
Erin is involved in serving people in many ways. While in high school, she launched a service project called Step Forward for Haiti, which has collected thousands of pairs of new shoes to send to people in Haiti. Closer to home, she worked as a volunteer with the American Health Network (which distributes the shoes she collects for Haiti) to provide free physicals to students at her school, and with Aeropostale on their Jeans for Teens project, collecting jeans to send them to kids in need.
A Varsity Golf team captain, president of her student government body each year, and vice president of her school’s National Honor Society, her most impressive leadership example has been to recover from a string of four concussion injuries in junior high from basketball and cheerleading incidents. While contact sports are now not part of her life, Erin’s injury led her to be an advocate for concussion awareness in partnership with the “Seeing Stars” organization.
“We are extremely proud to present Erin Bundy with our second Gold M Award for her exceptional leadership both on and off the field, and for her outstanding commitment to give back through community service,” said Josh Shaw, co-founder of MISSION Athletecare, which conceived of the idea of The M Award. “Erin is a leader, a role model and a shining example of what it means to be an ‘Athlete on a Mission.’”
“Erin is a young adult who inspires all of us. LeftRightLeftRightForwardMarch! is about projects like this,” said founder Foster Friess, “that demonstrate the importance of community service for all of us, working together – and we are privileged to help sponsor The M Awards.”
To date, more than 40 high school student athletes have been recognized nationally with Bronze and Silver M Awards – along with one other Gold M Award winner.
About MISSION Athletecare®
MISSION is the first and only line of athlete-engineered products designed to enhance performance in training and competition. Co-founded in 2009 by a premier group of world-class athletes including 13-time Grand Slam Tennis Champion Serena Williams, seven-time MLB All-Star David Wright and Gold Medal Soccer Champion Mia Hamm, MISSION boasts more than 25 high-performance product innovations and is sold across the U.S. Find out about MISSION at https://www.missionathletecare.com and follow us @MissionAthlete.
About LeftRightLeftRightForwardMarch!
“LeftRightLeftRightForwardMarch! -Together we’ll get there!” is an initiative of FosterFriess.com which seeks to restore civil discourse and civic cooperation between politically diverse Americans by promoting partnerships on projects that advance the common good. For more information go to https://www.lrlrfm.com and follow @lrlrfm.
About The M Awards/ The M Foundation
The M Foundation is a revolutionary non-profit organization that inspires young athletes to lead healthy lifestyles and to perform their best – both within and outside the competitive arena. The mission of the organization is to educate and to inspire. The M Foundation educates through several research and awareness programs, and regularly inspires through activation and awards programs – most notably The M Awards, championed by the Foundation’s group of elite athletes. To learn more about The M Foundation or The M Awards program, or to nominate a student-athlete, visit https://www.theMawards.org.
