Contributions to date exceed $500,000. The list of corporate supporters includes; Lenovo, The Gap, Nike, Jet Set Sports, General Mills and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Notable individual contributions have also come from friends of the US Ski Team as well as fellow speedskaters Clara Hughes of Canada and Yang Yang (A) of China.

"My hope at the Olympics was to use my moment in the spotlight to call attention to people in the world who need our help," said Cheek. "That said, I never imagined the response would be so overwhelming.  I'm thrilled almost beyond words.  While the Olympics are now behind me, it seems the public interest in supporting RTP and the situation in Darfur is growing with each passing day.  I sincerely hope to continue this positive momentum well into the future and I thank everyone who has stepped up and gotten involved thus far."

As the Olympic Winter Games drew to a close Cheek was honored by his peers, being elected to carry the American flag into the Closing Ceremony, and by the public at large, as he was elected the recipient of the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award. Cheek was also selected to appear on the Wheaties box.

Cheek has now signed an ongoing endorsement agreement for Lenovo computers, makers of ThinkPad, and will appear on their behalf later this week in Las Vegas.  He recently completed an extensive media tour through NY City and has now embarked on a month long series of speaking engagements. 

He will meet with President Bush later this week at the Republican National Gala, then join House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi the following day at the Center for National Policy to address the situation in Darfur.  

In April, Cheek will join a delegation from Right To Play on a relief mission to Zambia. Later that month he will return to Washington D.C. to attend the White House Correspondents Dinner and participate as a featured speaker at the Save Darfur Coalition's Rally to Stop Genocide.

Cheek's hometown of Greensboro, N.C., has declared March 23rd 'Joey Cheek Day', upon which the city will welcome Cheek home for the first time since their native son became Olympic champion. The day long celebration will include numerous activities to honor both Cheek's accomplishments and generosity. The community has pledged $80,000 to a combination of Right To Play and local youth programming charities. Included in the day's events will be the official announcement of Greensboro College's Joey Cheek Scholarship, a four-year scholarship in Cheek's honor to be awarded to a student from the Darfur region of the Sudan. 

Greensboro has also honored their local hero with the recent unveiling of a celebratory billboard featuring Joey (view the billboard here: http://www.qsports.net/).