Chula Vista becomes part of the 2012 London Olympic excitement with the opening of the Team USA Shop located in its U.S. Olympic Training Center.
The store opened Wednesday afternoon and features more than 100 different team USA-branded items. Proceeds from sales will support U.S. Olympic athletes.
Scott Blackmun is the chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He says Olympians receive no government funding, so public support is key.
“Our athletes aren’t like the professional basketball players or hockey players, when an athlete is lucky enough to get support from us," he said. "It’s typically just enough to pay rent and to buy some groceries, it’s $20,000, not $2 million or $20 million.”
To help generate more money, the U.S. Olympic Committee created the Raise Our Flag campaign. Participants buy a “stitch” in the American flag that Olympians will carry to London. Donations made on the website https://raiseourflag.teamusa.org will go toward purchasing training equipment and providing housing and many other essentials for the U.S. Olympic athletes.
