What Are Special Olympics Athletes Thankful For?

While we take every opportunity to educate the public about the importance of the work at Special Olympics, it makes sense to do it again at a time where everyone is discussing what they are thankful for. You might be surprised what the athletes and their families are thankful for…

I and many of the staff have spent countless hours with athletes and their families and what we hear is far above the sports training and competition you might expect them to be thankful for.

A healthy lifestyle. Did you know individuals with intellectual disabilities are living longer, healthier lives because of their association with Special Olympics? It’s no secret that sports and exercise lead to a healthier lifestyle. It’s no different for people with intellectual disabilities.

Healthy Athletes Initiative: Jumping off the healthy lifestyle, Special Olympics athletes are afforded a great opportunity several times during the year to get access to quality healthcare such as dental and vision screening. Through a partnership with UMass Medical School, those opportunities are soon to increase.

Year-round competition: Athletes are thankful for the amazing amount of athletic opportunities during the year. With 26 sports and four sports seasons, there is always something going on in Special Olympics. It’s not just during the summer and it’s not just track and field.

A place to belong and a place to share: During this time, we are all thankful for family, friends and people who understand us; for people who look out for our best interests and for a place where we can share in our accomplishments and struggles. Special Olympics gives athletes, families, volunteers and others just this place.

But what everyone at Special Olympics Massachusetts are really thankful for is you, the supporter. Whether you volunteer or donate financial resources, all at this organization are thankful that you feel strongly about what our mission is to give back those resources. Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for all that you do or will do for the athletes of Special Olympics.

 

Day of Special Olympics Mass Fall Games

A wrap up from Ali Grenier of Governor’s Academy who helped run the Special Olympics MA Fall Soccer Tournament;

The day of the Special Olympics Soccer Tournament was an early one for many of us. I, along with my fellow shadows and our heads started the day at the student center at 5:45AM ready to start the eventful day. We got our coffee, got organized, put up signs, and anxiously awaited our guests. It was the day we had been waiting and planning for; we all hoped that everything would go as planned. With just a few bumps and bruises everything turned out great. Over 100 teams joined us to celebrate this great day.

Around 8:30Am teams were lined up on the field and opening ceremonies were held. Watching from the field house, everyone and everything could be seen and it was spectacular. The Newburyport marching band led the teams in, followed by speeches, and then the lighting of the torch. All was just what we had hoped for.

There were smiling faces everywhere from the playing fields, to Olympic town. With many fields set up around campus there were people everywhere. Athletes enjoyed ring toss, craft making, cotton candy and even massages! Between games teams went to fit feet and lounged in the beautiful weather we were lucky to have. The sportsmanship and spirit was everywhere. All of us here at Governor’s can’t wait for next year to be blessed with this great experience and opportunity.

Ali Grenier 11’

Come to the New House of Blues Boston to Support SOMA

On Friday evening, November 13, The Foundation Room at The House of Blues Boston will present “Red, White, and Bid @ The Blues” , a Tasting and Silent Auction to benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts.

Tickets are $75.00.

Included in ticket price are:

• Entry into the Exclusive “Members-Only” Foundation Room at the new House of Blues Boston

• Tastings of of various red and white wines, a cocktail, and beer from Boston’s Beer Works and Harpoon Breweries

• Delicious passed hors d’oeuvres

• Live music from Holmes, a local 7-piece band serving up R&B/Funk/Soul and Blues Old School-Style, and Dj Chris Ta-illon!

• Opportunity to bid on Silent Auction items from the dining, hotel, arts & entertainment, sports, health & beauty worlds of Boston and beyond!

• Opportunity to stay in Exclusive “Members-Only” Foundation Room for after-party w/ live music and cash bar

Most importantly, proceeds will benefit Special Olympics Massachusetts!!  To register for the event, please visit here.  

New England Patriots & Special Olympics Massachusetts Team Up

New England Patriots & Special Olympics Massachusetts Team Up to Host  1^st Annual Special Olympics Flag Football State Games

More than 250 Special Olympics Athletes from 4 states competed in Unified^® 5×5 flag football games, football skills & cheerleading demonstrations in Foxborough

On Sunday, November 1, Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) descended in world-champion fashion upon Foxborough for the first annual SOMA Flag Football & Cheerleading State Games. The season-ending event, sponsored by the New England Patriots, the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and the King Philip Youth Football League, was held at Gillette Stadium, the historic home of the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

“We’re happy to host this event and provide a unique opportunity for the athletes as a fitting season-ending celebration,” said Andre Tippett, executive director of community affairs for the Patriots. “Gillette Stadium is recognized as the home of football throughout New England, and playing on the same field where the Patriots play is a thrilling experience.”

More than 250 Special Olympics Athletes and Unified^® Partners from across Massachusetts, Rhode Island Connecticut and New Hampshire participated in the event, which featured Unified 5×5 flag football games, football skills and cheerleading demonstrations. Unified^® Sports combines individuals with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team playing as equal teammates against other Unified teams.

Tippett led a group of 10 current and former Patriots and NFL players and coaches – including current Patriots linemen Logan Mankins, Stephen Neal and Dan Koppen and defensive coordinator Dean Pees – who actively engaged Special Olympics athletes throughout the day. The event kicked off in thrilling fashion as all 20 teams in attendance ran through the giant inflatable Patriots helmet – led by team mascot Pat Patriot – to begin the festive Opening Ceremonies. After welcoming remarks highlighted by the lighting of the Special Olympics’ “Flame of Hope,” former Patriots safety Roland James officially declared the games open.

The morning session was highlighted by football skills stations (punting, passing, placekicking and a fun running obstacle course) as well as a Unified cheerleading clinic led by King Philip Youth Football and New England Patriots cheerleaders. Unified cheerleading demonstrations were then presented at midfield in Gillette Stadium.

To make way for the afternoon’s New England Revolution playoff soccer game, the Special Olympics teams then transitioned to the Dana Farber Field House for Unified 5-on-5 flag football games. Each team played two games apiece in the afternoon session, refereed by certified school and youth football league officials from across Massachusetts. After each team’s games were completed, participants gathered for group awards presented by New England Patriots cheerleaders, Patriots and NFL alumni, and local law enforcement officials from the Foxboro and Attleboro police departments.

In addition to financial contributions from the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and the King Philip Youth Football League, the events costs were underwritten by significant donations from CVS Caremark and the North Attleboro Fire Department.

“We have been so excited to bring the benefits and joy of organized football and cheerleading to our Athletes for the very first time on a statewide basis,” said Robert Johnson, president and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts. “It’s the only major American sport our Athletes haven’t had access to, until now. And what better way is there to spend a day than to compete with your friends in a sport that you love – all while becoming healthier in the process. It’s a championship combination. Yet we couldn’t do it without the support and encouragement of the New England Patriots and our local youth football organizations, and for that we are deeply grateful.”

 

Fall Games, less than one week away…

From the Fall Games Team at Governor’s Academy

The Special Olympics MA Fall Soccer Tournament is less than one week away! All of the committees are working hard to accomplish their goals for making this annual event as successful as possible. We have 335 student volunteers and 25 faculty volunteering. Planning is nearing its end, as the final details of the day are being worked out by every committee. Each venue is getting ready and organizing their plans for the tournament. The Volunteer and Team Registration groups have worked out a new plan for organizing players and volunteers upon arrival. The Olympic Town team is finalizing plans for new games and activities. As a new addition to the Governor’s Academy tournament, Healthy Athletes will be offering free Fit Feet screenings. These screenings are a fun and easy way for athletes to make sure they’re staying healthy while being active.

This week marked the conclusion of the donation collection period. Each committee completed their hard work raising money from local shops and businesses as well as private donors. The sponsorship competition definitely helped to motivate students to raise money for a great cause. The Fall Games Team raised $4,835 in donations.

The next Special Olympics meeting will be held on November 3^rd, when volunteers will be given their job assignments and will meet with the heads of their venue. All of the heads and shadows are excited to have even more students involved in the planning of the event. Special Olympics spirit will continue on Thursday, November 5^th when juniors and seniors will participate in making posters for each team.

As we finish up this final week of planning, everyone is looking forward to welcoming athletes, volunteers and supporters, alike, to the Govs campus on the approaching tournament day.

 Katie Reilly ‘11

Making Time for Better Lives

Doctors are busy.  That’s pretty much understood, right?  I’ve had great relationships with the majority of my primary care doctors and specialists, but I still know that I get my fifteen minutes of patient-fame, and that’s it, they’re on to the next one.  Can you blame them?  They come in early, stay late, remain on-call for their evenings and weekends; all their time occupied with flues and fungi and the like.  Knowing this, you can imagine how I felt when I learned that a large part of my job here at Special Olympics Massachusetts would be finding clinicians to, get this, volunteer.

 

For every Healthy Athletes screening offered, SOMA relies on volunteer clinicians to spend tens of hours preparing the details of the event.  They submit grants, order supplies, copy papers; you name it.  On the day of a screening, these same volunteers not only perform clinical evaluations, they also do check-in and check-out, clean equipment, etc.  Without committed volunteers, Special Olympics wouldn’t have been able to provide services for the 700,000 athletes who’ve already benefited from Healthy Athletes screenings worldwide.

 

It’s been about six months since I started as Healthy Athletes Program Coordinator. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about Special Olympics and even more about health care.  My biggest lesson, though, has been about people.  I have been privileged to see how many clinicians are willing to commit themselves to improving the lives of SOMA athletes.  I’ve worked with physicians, physical therapists, optometrists, and dentists who, armed with the staggering truth that people with disabilities are receiving sub-standard heath care in this country, are dedicated to making a difference (even if it means driving for 2 hours on their only free day to see our athletes outside in the freezing cold).  I am proud and humbled to be a part of this, and I’m excited as our group continues to grow.

 

Our Fall Soccer Tournament is just around the corner, and it’s going to be a big event for Healthy Athletes.  We plan on offering two screenings that day:  Fun Fitness, which is conducted by Physical Therapists to screen athletes’ strength, balance and flexibility, and because of the dedication of one of our newest clinical volunteers, SOMA will be offering Fit Feet (podiatric screening) for the first time.  Athletes will have the chance to see a passionate, licensed podiatrist who can recommend proper footwear, as well as screen for a host of foot conditions. 

 

So, here’s a big thank you, in advance, to all the volunteers that will make Healthy Athletes possible at Fall Tournament.  Our athletes are in good hands…

Annual Fall Soccer Event Getting Closer

The blog post below is from the student games management team that helps run the annual fall soccer games. They have been writing about their progress as they get closer to the event. For more on the event, you can log on to: http://www.specialolympicsma.org/soccertournament.php

Only two weeks to go until the big day here on campus! Its seems the campus is sprucing itself up just in time for the big day. All the trees are changing and it really feels like high time for a Special Olympics event. The Heads and Shadows are all hard at work getting ready for the big day as it approaches.  Our next meeting all together is this coming Tuesday, October 27. During the meeting everyone should be giving updates on any progress that their specific venue has made as well as reporting back about any donations that we have received.  Also, we are all looking forward to meeting with our SOMA liaisons to see that everything is going as planned. Hope so!

This coming weekend at Parents Weekend on campus, a Special Olympics athlete is going to come to be a resource for parents to get to know them and really get a feel for how amazing and truly special, Special Olympics is. Also, the numbers of volunteers on campus is going up every day with people being prompted by all of the colorful posters our wonderful directors made to encourage sign up. We’re looking forward to submitting our press release to the local papers so hopefully we can get the word out about the tournament and get some great spectators as well! I know that everyone here is looking forward to a great day for Special Olympics.

                Hoping for a great next few weeks as we get everything all ready for the tournament!

                                Lindsay Grant ‘10

Hopkinton to Boston for Special Olympics Massachusetts

Want to run the Boston Marathon for Special Olympics Massachusetts? The Boston Marathon, believe it or not is not too far away. Many are training right now for this prestigious event and many train all year long. Would you like to be one of them? You may know that to run the Boston Marathon (legitimately) you have to qualify at one of several other road races. The exception is when the Boston Athletic Association allows certain charities to use these numbers for fundraising purposes. Special Olympics Massachusetts has had a long relationship with the BAA and their charitable program and once again, SOMA has several numbers for the Boston Marathon.

If you want to apply for a number to run the Boston Marathon and raise much-need dollars this coming April, please contact Nick Savarese at Nicholas.Savarese@specialolympicsma.org or at the New Yawkey Sports Training Center for Special Olympics Massachusetts at 508-485-0986. There is a fundraising minimum of $3,000. As they say in the infomercials, don’t delay…These will not last. What you won’t get is a free gift or two of the same thing. But wait…there’s more.

What you will get is an incredible feeling of personal achievement, and the pure satisfaction that you have raised some much-need money for the athletes of Special Olympics here in Massachusetts. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are living healthy, vibrant lives by their association with Special Olympics and you can help move that important health-related mission forward by taking this challenge.

Three weeks to go…

Below is more information on the planning of the Special Olympics Massachusetts Fall Tournament. The tournament has been run with the help of students of Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Mass. for well over 20 years.  Students will update their progress on this blog for the next few weeks…

Only three weeks till the Special Olympics Fall Tournament happens here on campus! The heads and shadows are busy at work as the date approaches! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 20. Each team venue plans to update the group on their donation progress as well as tackle any specific goals or issues they have to conquer before the tournament. All the committees are busy at work! Many groups are busy designing their venue layouts under the direction of their SOMA liaison.

 The Strides for Shriver road race, which was supposed to be held here Sunday on campus, was cancelled at 1’oclock due to the October nor’easter. The Sunday road race welcomed students and faculty to run, walk, skate or bike in their Halloween costumes around the “short loop” on campus. The “short loop” is approximately a two mile run through the scenic marsh on campus that begins and ends at the Pescosolido Field House. Despite the cancellation, student directions Hanna Bird ’10 and Kaitlyn Barnett ’10 still feel as if they accomplished their objective of raising funds for the Special Olympics Fall Soccer Tournament, and to tribute the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of  Special Olympics.

With 130 runners, and a $20 donation, the race raised $1,150 for the Special Olympics. Runners and volunteers for the race will receive their neon orange ‘Strides for Striver” shirt next week during lunch.

So far, approximately 250 students and faculty have signed up, with the breakdown being: 60% of seniors, 63% of juniors, 74% of sophomores, and 53% of freshman signed up. However, those numbers will increase as the deadline for sign-ups is October 28^th.

 Here’s to successful last few weeks!

Jen Migliore ‘10

Planning for Fall Season

Below is a continuing summary of the planning of the Special Olympics Massachusetts Fall Tournamnet. The tournament has been run with the help of students of Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Mass (Formally Governor Dummer Academy.) Students will update their progress on this blog through the event.

Special Olympics Fall Tournament planning 2009 is going great! At our most recent meeting, we discussed our major fundraising event, “Strides for Shriver.” We already have plenty of people signing up to run and volunteer as well as a t-shirt design in the making. Everyone is getting excited for the race on October 18^th, and our school newspaper is running updates on our progress and reminders about the run. Also at the meeting, each group quickly summarized their progress thus far and updated the group about any new sponsors or donations. We already have local businesses donating to the cause and people in the area getting excited about volunteering. We have an article in the works for the school newspaper, and we’re hoping to get it sent to some local newspapers to recruit more volunteers and encourage people to come and enjoy the day with us as spectators.

At Governor’s Academy, students are signing up every day for volunteer positions and it’s truly becoming a campus-wide event, involving virtually the entire student body even if they are not heads or shadows. As November 7^th gets closer and closer, our work level increases but most importantly our excitement grows. We hope the 2009 Special Olympics Fall Tournament will be the best one yet!