LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Muhammad Ali, who once said, "Old age is just a record of one's whole life," will be turning 65 years young on January 17. Fans, friends, and admirers from around the world are invited to help celebrate the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali by sending him a personal birthday message during the month of January. Participants are also encouraged to contribute, in Muhammad's honor, a donation to the new Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1942, Ali's story is one of inspiration: champion athlete, media icon, societal symbol, United Nations Messenger of Peace, and a beacon of hope to people around the globe for over four decades. Now the public has a golden opportunity to express to Muhammad some of the motivation, joy, and magic he has afforded them over the years.
Visitors must use the form provided on the Ali Center's website, http://www.alicenter.org , to submit their personal message to be possibly publicly shared. All birthday wishes will be compiled into a gift collection for Muhammad.
As a boxer, Ali brought unprecedented speed and grace to his sport, while his charm and wit changed forever what the public expected a champion to be. His accomplishments in the ring were legendary. But over the years Muhammad transcended from a boxing champion to a champion of humanity.
He has hand-delivered food and medical supplies to the Harapan Kita Hospital for Children in Jakarta, Indonesia, the street children of Morocco, and an embargoed Cuba. He has participated in goodwill missions in Afghanistan and North Korea, helped secure the release of 15 US hostages in Iraq, was special envoy to Africa, and sought the truth on POWs and MIAs in Vietnam. At home, Ali has visited countless soup kitchens and hospitals and assisted numerous organizations and initiatives including: adoption agencies, the Special Olympics, children infected with AIDS, and Parkinson's research and treatment.
Since opening in November 2005, the Ali Center's mission is to extend Muhammad's values of respect, confidence, dedication, giving, hope, and understanding, worldwide and to promote cross-cultural dialogue, peacemaking, and conflict management while inspiring all people to be as great as they can be. For more information, visit http://www.alicenter.org .
For more information, please contact:
Jeanie Kahnke
The Muhammad Ali Center
Tel: +1-502-992-5301
Email: jkahnke@alicenter.org
