Help Margarita make it to Vancouver

Chances are, if you're out for groceries, you might notice that some cereal boxes are featuring pictures of Canadian athletes as part of the General Mills Aspiring Olympians.

Well, there is one you please must support, Nordic skier Margarita Gorbounova, 24, of Ottawa, who's aspiring to compete in the Paralympics next February. Margarita, who is visually impaired, is the girlfriend of my childhood next-door neighbour and friend Cliff Martin, an avid athlete who has been to many national-level goalball tournaments. Every little bit counts, especially for Paralympians, who don't have get the same media attention or the sponsorship opportunities available to Olympic athletes. Margarita is one of two Paralympic athletes in the program, along with Jeff Foss, an alpine skier for Chase, B.C.

Margarita's picture is on boxes of Multigrain Cheerios and Golden Grahams boxes. If you're interested, you can go to generalmillsathletes.ca, enter the registration number that is on the inside of the box and pick an athlete to support (i.e., Margarita Gorbounova). General Mills will enter you into a monthly draw for some nice schwag and they will also donate $1 to Margarita.

Just to be clear, you don't have to make any cash donation, except for buying the cereal). The money that is raised will go towards her training. On the phone just now, Cliff joked that he's got a large extended family who eat their fair share of cereal. They can't do it themselves, people.