Kansas
Special Olympics is a global organization that serves more than 3.4 million athletes with intellectual disabilities working with hundreds of thousands of volunteers and coaches each year. Since the establishment of Special Olympics in 1968, the number of people with and without intellectual disabilities who are involved with the organization has been growing, but the unmet need to reach more people with intellectual disabilities is staggering.
It’s at the local level--right here--where interested volunteers meet the athletes. That’s where the perceptions start to change and where the miracle of transformation takes place.
Many people know that Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Those activities give them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship.
What’s not as widely known is that Special Olympics sporting events occur frequently throughout the year. In 2009, for example, there were more than 44,000 competitions around the world, an average of 121 a day.
Hundreds of thousands of coaches, educators and volunteers worldwide offer their time to train athletes, organize those competitions and plan those events. When you see the seriousness and sense of purpose evident in each Special Olympics athletic event, a window of understanding opens.
Love a sport? You might be able to play that sport on a mixed team of people with and without intellectual disabilities. Good with a camera? Come take photos. Organizational skills? Help us plan events.
Do you simply want to meet some of the most amazing people in the world? Get in touch with us today!
Areas Served
Allen County, Anderson County, Atchison County, Barber County, Barton County, Bourbon County, Brown County, Butler County, Chase County, Chautauqua County, Cherokee County, Cheyenne County, Clark County, Clay County, Cloud County, Coffey County, Comanche County, Cowley County, Crawford County, Decatur County, Dickinson County, Doniphan County, Douglas County, Edwards County, Elk County, Ellis County, Ellsworth County, Finney County, Ford County, Franklin County, Geary County, Gove County, Graham County, Grant County, Gray County, Greeley County, Greenwood County, Hamilton County, Harper County, Harvey County, Haskell County, Hodgeman County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Jewell County, Johnson County, Kearny County, Kingman County, Kiowa County, Labette County, Lane County, Leavenworth County, Lincoln County, Linn County, Logan County, Lyon County, Marion County, Marshall County, McPherson County, Meade County, Miami County, Mitchell County, Montgomery County, Morris County, Morton County, Nemaha County, Neosho County, Ness County, Norton County, Osage County, Osborne County, Ottawa County, Pawnee County, Phillips County, Pottawatomie County, Pratt County, Rawlins County, Reno County, Republic County, Rice County, Riley County, Rooks County, Rush County, Russell County, Saline County, Scott County, Sedgwick County, Seward County, Shawnee County, Sheridan County, Sherman County, Smith County, Stafford County, Stanton County, Stevens County, Sumner County, Thomas County, Trego County, Wabaunsee County, Wallace County, Washington County, Wichita County, Wilson County, Woodson County, Wyandotte County