Special Olympics Capitol Hill Day
Nearly 8 million Americans live with intellectual disabilities (ID)—and over 5 million are 21 years or younger. Far too many continue to face social exclusion and barriers to adequate healthcare.
For over two decades, the U.S. government and Special Olympics have partnered to improve the lives of those with ID.
We need your continued support in Congress to work towards this goal.
OUR IMPACT
150,000+
12,000+
21.3M
1M+
170,000+
53,000+
$39,140,000
2x
$3,000 – $5,500
20,000
$21,115,000
$7.42
$7.3M
500,000
Healthy Athletes Program
Unified Champion Schools® (UCS)
“There’s a lot more than making sure that students were being a part of a game. It’s health, it’s decrease in bullying, creating more inclusive school environments. It’s about the students creating the culture of inclusiveness.”
“So, not only is the Special Olympics program beneficial to our students in the Exceptional Student educational program, it helps our general population to learn social skills. I think it encourages both populations as it encourages teamwork, it encourages team building, it builds self-esteem. And that, again, makes a positive impact in the educational environment.”
“I’ve heard of teachers wanting to come here [Rio Rancho Elementary] because they see that sense of inclusion. It speaks a lot to the community of our school in general. Parents, once they come here – I’ve heard just how happy they are because of that sense [of inclusion] and their child feels happy, their child feels included and they are not seeing the same issues they were seeing at other schools.”
“I think my biggest takeaway was friendships. So many friendships over the years, some of which I still hold true today eight years later out of high school. When someone still consistently reaches out, it shows that you made an impact to them and that they value you as a true friend."
“Special Olympics Unified Sports gave me the skills that I use now in my jobs. I learned skills like time management, the importance of respect, how to share and communicate well with others. I learned how to ask for help, and no matter what, to always play hard and work to be the best version of myself. I don’t think that I would have the same character and teamwork skills that I use in my job without Special Olympics.”
"Special Olympics Healthy Athletes saved my life back in 2004, thanks to Special Smiles screening I was able to get the right follow-up care after a screening to discover that I had oral cancer. If it went one month longer, I would not be alive today. Today I am cancer free and working for Special Olympics Southern California running the Athlete and Unified Leadership programs."
Health
1 Lauer, E., & McCallion, P. (2015). Mortality of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from select US state disability service systems and medical claims data. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 28(5), 394-405.
2 Favazza, P. C., Siperstein, G. N., Zeisel, S. A., Odom, S. L., Sideris, J. H., & Moskowitz, A. L. (2013). Young athletes program: Impact on motor development. Adapted physical activity quarterly, 30(3), 235-253.
3 Lloyd, M., Temple, V. A., Foley, J. T., Yeatman, S., Lunsky, Y., Huang, A., & Balogh, R. (2023). Young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who participate in Special Olympics are less likely to be diagnosed with depression. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 58(11), 1699-1708.
4 Lloyd, M., Temple, V. A., Foley, J. T., Yeatman, S., Lunsky, Y., Huang, A., & Balogh, R. (2024). Participation in Special Olympics reduces the rate for developing diabetes in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Diabetic Medicine, 41(11), e15393.
Unified Champion Schools
1, 2 Hart Research Associates (Garin, G. & Naser, R.) for Special Olympics, Inc. Voters’ Support for Increasing Federal Funding for Special Olympics Education and Health Programs. USA. 11-14 December 2023. Web.