Special Olympics Texas

Mission Statement: The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

H
ealth Programs: Special Olympics has the largest health program dedicated to helping those with intellectual disabilities:  

                                  https://www.sotx.org/healthy-athletesTh

e

Panhandle Area alone is able to provide the following screenings to our athletes at no cost: medical / athlete physical, eye exam and eye glasses, foot exam and shoes, hearing tests and hearing aids, and follow up visits as needed.Uni
f

ied Champion Schools:To c
reate a better future of inclusion, we have to educate those who will be building that future. With our Unified Champion Schools (UCS) and Special Olympics (SO) College programs, we partner with and support schools and colleges who are committed to participating in and promoting inclusion throughout their schools programming. By making more school programs unified, we teach children and young adults with and without intellectual disabilities how to work and engage with each other to build lasting relationships and inclusive attitudes.http

s://www.sotx.org/ucsVirt

ual Programming: When COVID-19 hit and shutdowns started happening, we knew we needed to continue to provide ways to keep athletes engaged and active so we created S.O. Connected and SOTX TV! This virtual programming provides regular workouts, nutrition tips, and looks into our athletes and partners extracurricular activities to keep the community together, even when we are far apart. Thro

u
gh this program, we have held virtual State competitions and even created an E-Sports competitions to keep the competitive spirit alive in athletes and partners across the state. More information on our S.O. Connected program can be found here: https://www.sotx.org/soconnectedCurre
n

tly we host 13 sporting competitions, one large health fair, and multiple fundraisers a year. While the Panhandle Area serves over 500 athletes, there is a projected minimum of 1500 more people with intellectual disabilities in our community needing to be served. Our goal is to expand our reach by bringing health clinics, competitions, and fundraisers to the more rural and underserved parts of the Panhandle. We nee
d your help to not only provide the best quality competitions and screenings for current athletes, but to bring these services and opportunities to all people with intellectual disabilities in the Texas Panhandle. Your donation supports Special Olympics Texas and provides our athletes with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendships with their families, other athletes and the community. $1,500
Sponsors 10 Athletes' Year-round Participation in Training and Competitions.$750 S
ponsors 5 Athletes' Year-round Participation in Training and Competitions.$150 S
ponsors one Athlete for one full year of year-round Programming.$100 P
rovides up to 50 medals for competitions.$50 Sp
onsors an Athlete our Statewide Games.$25 Co
vers the cost of 12 medals for competitions.$10 Sp
onsors a meal at our competitions.Testim

onials  “Swim

ming, track, bowling and basketball make me happy---Special Olympics is my people!!!!”-Linda
McKinney, Stratford Athlete"I fee

l so fortunate to be able to work with our wonderful athletes through the Special Olympics Lions Club International Opening Eyes program. Our area’s youths [with intellectual disabilities] have a greater risk of not getting adequate and timely healthcare. The Healthy Athletes program provided by the Special Olympics is a fantastic way to health screen these athletes conveniently after a sporting event when they are excited and ready to be helped. I am so excited to have our next event!"-Dr. B
randon Dabney, Opening Eyes Clinical Director"What

Special Olympics means to is that it changed my life and it's a blessing on getting to meet new people, and getting to know them, and that it's a blessing to give to the community! I love doing arts and crafts and getting to know new things about my friends like their personality on what they like"- Abby

eer DetailsAll of

the services and events we provide could not happen without the help of the community. If you are unable to provide a monetary donation, or if you can and want to do more, we ask that you volunteer to help us with our competitions, health screenings, fundraisers, and even compete with our athletes as a unified partner. For more information on different volunteer opportunities, please visit sotx.orgStay

up to date on what we are doing by visiting our Area 16 website a…