Beautiful Russian Female Tennis Star Sharapova Named UN Ambassador
The United Nations Development Program has named Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova to be a goodwill ambassador. Immediately following the announcement Sharapova made a $100,000 donation towards the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and said that her work would focus on helping that area continue to recover from the tragic 1986 nuclear accident.
Sharapova’s parents lived in Gomel in Belarus which is 128 kilometers north of Chernobyl and left the area shortly before her birth in April of 1987 because of fears the the radiation would affect their unborn child. Gomel was an area most affected by the radiation. Some of Sharapova’s family still live in the area, including her grandmother.
The UNDP likes having Sharapova as a role model for young people because of her healthy and responsible lifestyle. Her donation will go to eight development projects that are targeting young people that have been affected by the the nuclear accident in rural communities in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Sharapova signed a two year contract with the UNDP under which she will earn a salary of $1 per year - a symbolic gesture which she called “her proudest contract ever.” She plans on extending her work to other areas of the world that are impoverished and has a strong interest in Africa.
