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The Impact of A Very Special Christmas —
Music Makes it Happen
Special Olympics awards millions of dollars each year through its Christmas Record Grants initiative. These grants, funded through sales of A Very Special Christmas® albums, support Special Olympics Programs around the world. The impact has been extraordinary. The following are just three examples of the impact Christmas Records Grants are making on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities:
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Timothy Shriver celebrates medal wins with athletes at an athletics competition held in conjunction with the Inspire Hope India event 11-14 April 2005, which consisted of activities in three cities — Delhi, Agra and Mumbai. Special Olympics' attention-getting, weeklong campaign for hope in India declared its aggressive intentions to foster acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in 2005 and beyond. [Photo courtesy Special Olympics Asia Pacific] |
- Funding to Special Olympics Bharat, (India), has had direct impact on 24 states throughout the country and in fact increased their reach to 26 states. Funds went directly to the local programs to recruit and train athletes and coaches and conduct local competitions. Special Olympics Bharat also f ocused on major cities, highly populated rural areas, government and non-profit partnerships, special events and public awareness efforts to achieve their goal. Through the success of the Inspire Hope India campaign and their six-month long Torch Run leading up to their multi-city National Games the Program achieved more public awareness from government officials, celebrities, parents, teachers, families and potential athletes. It was estimated that 200,000 athletes would participate in the Program by the close of 2005; that goal was exceeded as Special Olympics Bharat finished 2005 with 210,854 athletes..
- The “Special Olympics Russia — Local Program Growth Challenge 2005” was a project that undoubtedly benefited the lives of people with intellectual abilities in Russia. This grant allowed Special Olympics Russia an opportunity to provide mini-grants directly to their sub-regions specifically targeted at reaching new athletes. In order to qualify for a grant, a regional program submitted a list of participating schools/centers along with the numbers of new athletes to be reached. Each program committed to conduct simple outreach/education activities with these new clubs, conduct a coaches training in three sports, and conduct a culminating competition in each sport in 2005. Special Olympics Russia gained 65,852 athletes between 2000 and 2005 and 21,425 athletes in 2005 alone. .
- In 2007, the world will be looking at China as we conduct the first Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai. We have invested heavily in China to reach as many athletes as possible. With the support of the Chinese government, Special Olympics China added 474,585 athletes between 2000 and 2005 and currently serves 550,693 athletes..
Round out your holiday music collection with some great selections while supporting a great cause at the same time. All of the CDs in the series can be found at Borders Books and Music and other retail stores, or on Amazon.com.
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