Saving African lives with Olympic gold

You'd expect a gold-medal snowboarder to be confident, outgoing, brassy, even. And Hannah Teter is all that. What you might not expect is for her to donate her Olympic winnings ($25,000), plus all her other prize money since 2008 (almost $75,000 from some 10 events), to charity. While growing up in Belmont, Vermont, a town she says had "more deer than people," Teter, 22, developed a reverence for the greater world.

Four years ago, she began sponsoring Kirindon, a Kenyan village of about 60,000, supplementing her contest earnings with proceeds from selling Vermont maple syrup and organic wristbands at hannahsgold.com. Because of her efforts, Kirindon's residents should have consistent access to clean water by 2011. Watch for her this February at the Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler.

Q: Why the interest in Africa?

A: It's a humanitarian issue. Every 15 seconds someone dies of a water-related disease. Clean water is a treasure that we take for granted in America. One of the goals is to equip all of Kirindon with sanitary water, using wells, boreholes, and rainwater catchments.

Q: As a cold-weather athlete, do you have a particular concern about climate change?

A: I'm concerned for the global population, for everyone. No one is really paying enough attention. It's hard to make everyone aware of what's going on because of our unsustainable ways. Africa's tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro, now has no snow.

Q: Given your affinity for mountains, how do you feel about mountaintop removal?

A: Ugh! I feel like we're still barbarians when I see mountaintops getting blown up and rivers being destroyed. They go in, and coal is the only thing on their mind. Coal, coal, coal. If people were more aware of all the bad things that come from it, it would quickly be made illegal. It's unreal, but it's happening. Hopefully we can make it not happen. It just takes everyone wanting it and voicing their opinion.