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Students across the United States are signing up to participate in the first-ever Make the Point!™ for Special Olympics nationwide basketball free-throw fundraiser to benefit participating schools and Special Olympics athletes.
“Through Make the Point!, Special Olympics and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) are empowering youth to pioneer a movement of change, challenging them to lead their local communities to be a society of acceptance and understanding of all individuals,” said Robert F. Kanaby, Executive Director of the NFHS.
Make the Point! culminates on 25 October, National Make a Difference Day (a national day of volunteerism sponsored by USA Weekend). On the 25th students will gather in their school gymnasiums, bring the money they raised and shoot as many free throws as possible in 60 seconds. Prior to event day, students will collect donations based on the number of free throws they believe they can attempt in 60 seconds. (Download an information sheet on the Make the Point! event — Adobe PDF, 511K.) Schools can follow their fundraising progress by visiting the Make the Point!™ for Special Olympics Web site.
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25 October is National Make a Difference Day, a national day of volunteerism — and a fitting day for Make the Point! participants to gather in their gymnasiums and raise funds for Special Olympics and their schools. Visit the Make a Difference Day Web site to register your school's Make the Point Event online and be part of this national day of celebration. |
“Make the Point! is much more than shooting free throws,” said Jim Schmutz, Managing Director of Special Olympics North America. “It is about taking the first step to abolish the destructive, negative stereotypes associated with people with mental retardation, bringing together those with and without mental retardation.”
When asked why schools' involvement is important, Special Olympics Iowa Athlete and National Make the Point! Athlete Spokesperson Katie Meade said, “It is very important to me for people to understand that Special Olympics athletes aren’t that much different than anyone else. By being part of Make the Point!, maybe students will be more aware of what we can do and not what we can’t.”
As an incentive, Special Olympics will award prizes to encourage students to reach specific fundraising levels. Prizes include T-shirts, movie passes, online gift certificates, MP3 players and more. As an added bonus, each participating school will receive 10 percent of the revenue it raises through Make the Point! [Full details about prizes and how current and former students can participate.]
The Make the Point! event will conclude the 24th annual celebration of National High School Activities Week (19-25 October), which was created by the NFHS in 1980 to increase the public's awareness of the value of and need for interscholastic activity programs.
The national alliance between the NFHS and Special Olympics brings together two organizations dedicated to empowering individuals to be respected, contributing members of society through their involvement in sports.
Nationally, 1,500 schools and more than 75,000 students are expected to take part in Make the Point! events. For more information or to sign up your school, contact Judy Thomas, NFHS Director of Marketing, at +1 (317) 822-5758 or jthomas@NFHS.org.
About NFHS
 The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the U.S. national service and administrative organization for high school athletics and fine arts programs including speech, debate, theatre and music. NFHS writes the playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls competition and provides programs and services for its 51 member state high school associations, which encompasses about 18,200 U.S. high schools and more than 10 million students. The NFHS' mission is to promote participation and sportsmanship and to develop good citizens through interscholastic activities which provide equitable opportunities, positive recognition and learning experiences to students. Visit the NFHS online at www.nfhs.org.
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