killed," Cheek continued. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating [my prize money] specifically to the [Right to Play] in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."

Way to go, Joey. And I don't mean th

A month ago, I'd never heard of Joey Cheek or Right to Play. Now, they're both imprinted in my mind as stellar examples of smart-thinking humanitarians. They've shown that, once again, getting attention in this fast-moving world requires being savvy and strategic in getting your message across to the world.

Gold medalist Cheek capitalized on his moment of fame (he was on the podium, accepting his medial) to announce he was donating his entire $25,000 medal bonus to humanitarian organization Right to Play (which helps disadvantaged children worldwide gain physical benefits and develop life skills and strong values through play and sports.) He reiterated this high-impact marketing strategy with his $10,000 bonus when he won the silver in the 1,000 meter race. And he challenged his Olympic sponsors and other advertisers to do the same:

"I've always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back. So ... I'm going to be donating the entire sum the USOC gives to me, which is $25,000."

"In the Darfur region of Sudan, there have been tens of thousands of people killed," Cheek continued. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating [my prize money] specifically to the [Right to Play] in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."

Way to go, Joey. And I don't mean the

across to the world.

Gold medalist Cheek capitalized on his moment of fame (he was on the podium, accepting his medial) to announce he was donating his entire $25,000 medal bonus to humanitarian organization Right to Play (which helps disadvantaged children worldwide gain physical benefits and develop life skills and strong values through play and sports.) He reiterated this high-impact marketing strategy with his $10,000 bonus when he won the silver in the 1,000 meter race. And he challenged his Olympic sponsors and other advertisers to do the same:

"I've always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back. So ... I'm going to be donating the entire sum the USOC gives to me, which is $25,000."

"In the Darfur region of Sudan, there have been tens of thousands of people killed," Cheek continued. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating [my prize money] specifically to the [Right to Play] in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."

Way to go, Joey. And I don't mean th

benefits and develop life skills and strong values through play and sports.) He reiterated this high-impact marketing strategy with his $10,000 bonus when he won the silver in the 1,000 meter race. And he challenged his Olympic sponsors and other advertisers to do the same:

"I've always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back. So ... I'm going to be donating the entire sum the USOC gives to me, which is $25,000."

"In the Darfur region of Sudan, there have been tens of thousands of people killed," Cheek continued. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating [my prize money] specifically to the [Right to Play] in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."

Way to go, Joey. And I don't mean th

;I've always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back. So ... I'm going to be donating the entire sum the USOC gives to me, which is $25,000."

"In the Darfur region of Sudan, there have been tens of thousands of people killed," Cheek continued. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating [my prize money] specifically to the [Right to Play] in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."

Way to go, Joey. And I don't mean th

killed," Cheek continued. "My government has labeled it a genocide. I will be donating [my prize money] specifically to the [Right to Play] in Chad, where there are over 60,000 children who have been displaced from their homes."

Way to go, Joey. And I don't mean the medals. Of course he could have donated his winnings without telling anyone. But in a radio interview, Cheek discussed his pre-race thinking on how to respond to the bonus, if he got one. He realized the great impact he could make by talking about Right to Play, its good work and his giving, rather than the standard thanks.

"I've learned how news cycles work," Cheek said, "and I've learned that there is a gold medal tonight, and tomorrow there's another gold medalist. So I could take the time and discuss how wonderful I feel, or I could use it for something productive."

In making that decision, Cheek generated a flood of interest in Right to Play (shown in a huge upswing in website hits), and a total (as of today) of $300,000 in donations (including his and those from sponsors Nike, Gap, Jet Set and Leveno to date).

So Joey zigged while others zagged. Here's how he made this tremendous impact:

• Strategized how to draw the most attention to a cause that is personally meaningful (and showed great personal generosity in doing so), rather than just making the donation privately. &bul