Olympian Kim Vandenberg to visit students at Mari Sandoz Elementary

Before Olympic swimmer Kim Vandenberg heads off to London this summer for the 2012 Olympic Games, she's stopping by Mrs. Emily Smith's first grade classroom at Mari Sandoz Elementary School in Omaha to visit some of her youngest fans. 

Thanks to Classroom Champions, a nonprofit organization that connects Olympians and Paralympians with high need classrooms, and USA Swimming sponsor Mutual of Omaha, Vandenberg will make a special appearance at Mari Sandoz Elementary on Friday, February 24, 2012.

For the last five months, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist has been a special long-distance friend and mentor to Smith's 16 students as part of Classroom Champions. The organization was founded by 2010 Olympic gold medal bobsledder Steve Mesler to teach students the importance of goal setting, perseverance, and achievement.  Olympian and Paralympian mentors record video messages as they travel the world training and competing, focusing on various themes each month to pass their wisdom along to students all over the U.S.

Since September, Smith's students have interacted with Vandenberg through blogs and video taped messages. Vandenberg's appearance at the school on February 24 will be the first time her adopted class and all 400 students at Mari Sandoz Elementary will have the opportunity to meet her.

"I am honored to be a role model for these children and I am thankful to have the chance to meet them in person this upcoming week," says Vandenberg.

Classroom Champions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by 2010 Olympic gold medalist Steve Mesler and Leigh Mesler Parise, PhD, that connects Olympic and Paralympic athletes with students in high need classrooms around the nation. "The mission of Classroom Champions is to inspire, motivate and educate students in high need schools," Mesler said. "We want students to recognize their potential, set goals and dream big." Classroom Champions would like to thank the following partners for helping the program become a reality for children across the nation: Cisco, Plantronics, Lululemon, eMag Creator and Clover Web Sites.  For more information, please visit www.ClassroomChampions.org.