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BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Princeton University standout/ and current United States Olympic team goalie Ashleigh Johnson is joining fellow USA star Makenzie Fisher to help charity with one thing they know about from their dominance in the water – building a bamboo bike?
The dynamic duo are currently in the process of designing and constructing a sustainable bike made out of bamboo and are raising money for a worthwhile cause along the way.
As they build the bike, the pair are raising money for Mercer Street Friends – a community-building program in Trenton, New Jersey that offers resources for children, families and communities to overcome poverty and its lasting effects.
Donations are being accepted on a GoFundMe page located by CLICKING HERE.
Fisher and Johnson have a goal of raising $6,000 with the being used for their Community Schools Initiative for students at Rivera Community Middle Schools. The pair along the rest of the USA National Team roster had the opportunity to meet and spend the day with some of the middle school students during a trip to play games at Princeton this December. The team showed up with the intention to inspire, but rather left feeling inspired by the amount of hope, drive and potential they witnessed in the children.
During the visit to Mercer Street Friends, the team had the young women that we met write their lofty dreams on a whiteboard.
The board was covered in dreams like,
- “I want to be a veterinarian”
- “I’m going to be a mechanic”
- “My dream is to give kids more opportunities”
- ”My dream is to meet Steph Curry”
- “I want to be president because I want to give back to people in need…”
- “My dream is to change the world and to empower people”
The bike Fisher and Johnson build will be presented to one of these girls who have inspired them with their dreams and who hopefully learned something from the stories the pair shared about chasing their own dreams.
As they build, fans can follow regular updates about the progress of the bike on their social media pages (@makenziefishy and @ashleighjohnson).
About Ashleigh Johnson: One of the greatest athletes in Princeton history, Johnson won the C. Otto von Kienbusch and Cutino Awards during her senior season in 2017. She was the first player in Princeton women’s water polo history to be named first team All-America and third ever to be picked as All-American in each of her four seasons.
A 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist for anchoring Team USA to the prize, Johnson finished her Princeton career with a 100-17 record, along with a school-record 1,362 saves and a .693 save percentage. She was a 19-time Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Defensive Player of the Week award winner, a four-time first-team all-conference player and the CWPA Player of the Year.
