What’s it like to volunteer with Special Olympics?
There’s no one answer to this question. The volunteer experience has a deep personal meaning for each of the more than 700,000 individuals who volunteer around the world for Special Olympics. Other than volunteering and finding out for yourself, perhaps the best way to get a sense of what the experience is like is through the volunteers’ own words:
“Harry Blades has taught me much about life. His outlook is always bright; he always has a kind word for me and greets me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek whenever we meet. Harry and all the other athletes are the reason I got involved in Special Olympics and the reason I continue to volunteer. The athletes I’ve known over the years truly know the meaning of dedication, the meaning of giving their all. The athletes thank me for what I do for them, but it is really the athletes who deserve my thanks — for what they do for me.”
Laura Molinaro, Volunteer, Coach and Unified Sports Partner, Special Olympics New Jersey (USA)
 |
Nadia Comaneci, Olympic Gold Medalist and Vice Chair, Special Olympics Board of Directors, assists a young Special Olympics China athlete with her balance beam technique. |
“Coming from Romania, which used to be a communist country, I had no idea what Special Olympics was all about, let alone what a volunteer was. When I was growing up in Romania, I wasn’t exposed to anybody with intellectual disabilities. When I visited the gymnastics venue [at the 1991 Special Olympics World Summer Games], I saw an athlete perform a double back somersault during the floor exercises — I couldn’t even do that at the time — and I was very impressed. I met so many Special Olympics athletes at those Games, and we hugged like we had known each other for 15 or 20 years — just like family. I felt so open with the athletes; it’s the feeling you get when you meet them — that we are not strangers, but we are going to be friends from now on. Since then I’ve been involved nonstop with Special Olympics. If you get involved, it’s something you’re not going to forget."
Nadia Comaneci, Olympic Gold Medalist and Vice Chair, Special Olympics Board of Directors
“Being involved with Special Olympics athletes is a humbling experience. It opens your mind so you see individuals with intellectual disabilities from a different perspective. My husband's cousin recently had a son with an intellectual disability, and if I had not had this experience with Special Olympics I would have been awkward with him. Instead, we often invite him to stay with us. I have tenderness towards him. Being involved as a volunteer has changed the way I feel about individuals with intellectual disabilities.”
Anahita Gignoux, Director of Service Parts, Europe – Otis, and Special Olympics France Volunteer
“Every time I feel as though I am incapable of doing something, I think of the athletes because they have taught me by example how to be persistent with my goals and increase my capacity to love.”
Vanessa Nieto Diaz, Special Olympics Panama Volunteer and Coach
If you're ready to volunteer for Special Olympics, contact your local Program to find out how you can help.
Return to the "Why Volunteer?" main page
|
