October 21, 2009 10:46 AM
Support Special Olympics
A great way to get involved in serving your community is Special Olympics. Coming from an evangelical culture in which so much time was tied up with church activities and programs, I have found that Catholics tend to be very involved in this type of no-strings-attached ministry. I know my experience is anecdotal, but I wrote about this problem of the isolation/insulation of churches from their communities while still an evangelical - in Reaching the Left from the Right.
I'd like to encourage all believers to get more involved in service to their communities and to bring up your children in this tradition.
A great place to start is Special Olympics.
Special Olympics Athlete Profile
"People aren't different. I do lots of things just like anyone else would do."
- Mike Bailey, Special Olympics Athlete
Dear Barbara,
I
wanted to share with you an inspiring story of an athlete who embodies
what Special Olympics is all about - determination, confidence, and
fun.
Mike
Bailey loves action movies and his computer, has a life membership in
his local gym and enjoys music. He juggles his work, college studies
and multiple sports.
Mike
is like any 28-year-old today with a crazy schedule, yet there is
something more you should know about him. Mike was born with Down
syndrome and has been an avid Special Olympics athlete since he was a
child.
Mike's
grammar school teacher suggested he get involved in Special Olympics,
and today his parents say, "It was most likely one of, if not the most important decision we ever made for Mike."
Only
three years later, Mike traveled to the State Competitions with the
team to compete in three track and field events. It was at this point
with Special Olympics that Mike began to blossom.
In
his father's words, "The more he excelled at sports, the more confident
he became. And Special Olympics gave him an avenue to communicate and
interact with lots of people that don't have disabilities, like coaches
and chaperones."
Today,
Mike competes year round in basketball, bowling, softball, track and
field, and swimming. He loves every minute of it, including practice.
He reads the newspaper, moves about on his own, takes the bus to work,
goes out to lunch and pays his bills.
As
Karen Bailey tells us, "Mike loves Special Olympics so much; he's going
to be doing it for the rest of his life. It keeps him very active and
contributes to his overall physical conditioning and many great
friends."
Mike is one of nearly 3.2 million Special Olympics athletes who are showing their families, communities and the world that what you learn in sports training translates into life-changing confidence, determination and happiness.
Read more about Mike and see the accompanying photo slideshow.
Thanks
for being part of the Special Olympics family! Friends like you help us
make the world a better place for athletes like Mike. Thanks for your
friendship,
Posted in Church Issues, Disabilities, Opportunities to give | Permalink
Comments
Barbara, thanks for posting this reminder. Evan just loves S.O. and last weekend got a gold medal for bowling in regional competition and is on his way to state. Since he isn't in school anymore this has provided another great opportunity to socialize (along with all the other things he does). And I think we have as much fun as he does!
Posted by: Lori F | October 21, 2009 1:17 PM
Barbara,
thanks for the post. we're big supporters of special olympics and love that you've reached out to your community.
there's a special olympic's worker whose story about the power of the SO has become a finalist in the mutual of omaha, aha moment campaign: her story is here:http://www.ahamoment.com/pg/voting?id=8465
it's a shortened version of the story there but if enough people vote for it it will become part of their 2010 ad campaign and give the special olympics a great boost.
thanks for looking. keep up the good works.
cam
cam@ahamoment.com
Posted by: cam | October 21, 2009 4:35 PM
