Mia Hamm united two causes closest to her heart when she founded the Mia Hamm Foundation. Through the foundation she has raised funds and awareness for families who need marrow or cord blood transplants and creating opportunities for young women in sports.

Hamm says she can’t remember a time when her parents were not volunteering and taking people in. This inspired her to serve others, too. This belief in helping others was reinforced when it was her family that sought assistance. Her brother needed a bone marrow transplant. When she found out there was less than a 50% survival rate, she committed to do anything and everything to help him live. Hamm was amazed by the outpouring of support from people she had never even met.

Her foundation was borne out of the desire to celebrate her relationship with her brother. Hamm knows that the best way to show her gratitude to those who helped her family through a difficult time is to help others. She continues to give back through her foundation: she hosted a celebrity soccer game where 200 people had their bone marrow tested to save a patient's life and a match was found.

About Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm became the youngest American woman to win a World Cup championship at the age 19 when the women's national team first won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991. Eight years later, she and the rest of the national team became world champions again. The final match was the most-attended women's sports event, with over 90,000 people filling the Rose Bowl. In March 2004, Hamm and former U.S. teammate Michelle Akers were the only two women, named to the FIFA 100. Hamm helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and carried the American flag at the Closing Ceremonies. Hamm scored a record 158 international goals in her career.