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History of the
Special Olympics Global Messenger Program
In 1988, Greg Mark, a Special Olympics athlete from Colorado (USA), was asked to join his area Outreach Committee as an athlete recruiter. He eagerly accepted the assignment, and in less than six weeks he recruited 30 fellow adults with intellectual disabilities to join the Special Olympics family.
As a result of Mark’s success, the Athletes For Outreach concept was born. The idea was to have the Special Olympics "consumers" — Special Olympics athletes — advocate the benefits of sports training and competition, and recruit others to participate. For years, Special Olympics athletes have been telling the story of the movement. It is through their demonstration of skills, expression of courage and joy, and willingness to share that the world sees the important contributions of these individuals.
The Athletes For Outreach program was more than an extension of their telling the Special Olympics story. It was a formalized effort to assist Special Olympics athletes to speak for themselves about something that is important to them. Too often, individuals with intellectual disabilities are not given the chance to speak; they are spoken for, or about. This program provided them with the opportunity to relate, in their own words, what is so special about Special Olympics, and why others should choose to participate. Their voices are what truly matters in Special Olympics.
In May 1988, 15 Special Olympics athletes from 11 U.S. states attended a three-day workshop in Washington, D.C. The workshop was designed to provide them with the skills and tools to recruit additional athletes for Special Olympics. In addition, during a portion of the workshop, the participants served as a “focus group” for Special Olympics headquarters staff and responded to questions relating to the marketing and promotion of Special Olympics. Their comments and ideas reinforced further the capabilities of these individuals. The workshop was a tremendous success. These athletes, who for years sold the program on the playing fields, learned how to do the same thing behind a podium.
From 1988 to 1997 the Athletes For Outreach program trained more than 800 athletes to speak in public settings. In 1997 the focus switched from exclusively one of recruitment to a commitment to awareness and advocacy with Special Olympics athletes as the spokespersons. To reflect this change and to honor Special Olympics Chairman Sargent Shriver, the Athletes For Outreach program was renamed the Sargent Shriver Special Olympics Global Messengers program — Global Messengers for short.
Global Messengers is now an integral part of the comprehensive Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs), which allow athletes to explore opportunities to participate in Special Olympics in capacities previously considered “non-traditional.” ALPs encourages athletes to serve in leadership roles other than that of “competitor.” Global Messengers training makes this goal possible.
It is the continued purpose of the Global Messengers program to promote Special Olympics whenever possible. As a Global Messenger, Special Olympics athletes will be able to effectively educate individuals in their communities and around the world about the mission, philosophy and benefits of Special Olympics, both to the community and the individual participants.
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