Volunteer with Healthy Athletes
Join the more than 76,000 health care providers and students worldwide who have volunteered with the Healthy Athletes program and changed the life of a person with intellectual disabilities. They came to help, but they discovered the experience helped them too, and in many cases, changed their lives.
Opening Eyes. See Healthy Athletes slideshow
Why Our Volunteers Come Back
The health expertise volunteers possess spans the complete spectrum of medical disciplines from podiatry to dentistry to traditional sports medicine, but one thing they all have in common is the sense of accomplishment and joy they receive from working with athletes with intellectual disabilities at a Healthy Athletes venue. Many volunteers come back event after event for years and say they get more out of the experience than they give. Health care volunteers receive free training on the specific health needs of people with intellectual disabilities, allowing them to go back to their practices and classrooms and better serve their patients and teach their students. Healthy Athletes screenings are also provided in a comfortable and fun atmosphere, so athletes and volunteers alike can enjoy themselves.
Get Involved
If you are a health care professional or student and want to assist Special Olympics in the following disciplines, contact us:
- Fit Feet (podiatry): Martin Wisor (mwisor@specialolympics.org)
- FUNFitness (physical therapy): Shantae Polk (spolk@specialolympics.org)
- Health Promotion (better health and well-being: Heather Driscoll (hdriscoll@specialolympics.org)
- Healthy Hearing (audiology): Martin Wisor (mwisor@specialolympics.org)
- MedFest (sports physical exam): Heather Driscoll (hdriscoll@specialolympics.org)
- Opening Eyes (vision): David Evangelista (devangelista@specialolympics.org)
- Special Smiles (dentistry): Shantae Polk (spolk@specialolympics.org)
