Special Olympics - Greater Worcester Area
The mission of Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of well-coached Olympic-type sports for individuals with mental retardation, or closely-related developmental disabilities, by providing them with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, prepare for entry into school and community programs, express courage, experience joy, and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic Athletes, and the community.
Description:
Special Olympics contributes to the physical, social, and psychological development of people with mental challenges. Through successful experiences in sports, our athletes gain confidence and build positive self-images, which go with them into their homes, classrooms, jobs, and communities.
SOMA Volunteers benefit by discovering the capabilities of the athletes and feeling their joy.
Volunteers are also provided the opportunity to express courage, experience joy, and share their gifts, skill and friendship.SOMA is organized into four balanced levels: Local, Area, Sectional, and State.
Local
The Local level includes programs participating in sports training and competition intra-area.
Area
The Area level is comprised of 15 geographic areas statewide that operate as Area Management Teams.
Area programs are the most crucial component of the state organization because they represent the point of entry for athletes, their families, and their coaches.
Sectional
The Sectional level is comprised of several areas which receive assistance from a Sectional Director to strengthen Area programs.
State
The State level provides leadership and direction to the program and conducts five major competitions, several fundraising activities, and management of all sports.
This statewide program supports an over 8,000 athletes and Unified Partners who are assisted by over 1,200 coaches, and more than 10,000 volunteers.
History:
Special Olympics sprang from the simple philosophy that all people benefit from participation in sports. In the early 1960's, Eunice Kennedy Shriver held a daycamp for people with mental retardation and, through encouragement and instruction, children and adults with mental retardation proved themselves more athletically capable than anyone had thought possible. They also enjoyed many other benefits - physical, social, and psychological. Mrs. Shriver organized the First International Special Olympics Games, which were held in 1968 at Soldier Field in Chicago. At those first Games, 1,000 athletes from the United States and Canada competed in track and field and aquatics. Today, still headed by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics is the world's largest year-round program of physical fitness, sports training, and athletic competition for people with mental retardation and/or closely related developmental disabilities. Close to one million athletes participate, with athletes in every state of the U.S. and in over 140 countries around the world. What started out as a daycamp has rapidly developed into an organization of international significance, and Special Olympics has indeed become "A World of Winners."
Special Olympics Massachusetts was chartered by the Governor in 1971 to meet the needs of citizens with mental retardation throughout the state of Massachusetts.
Contact person: Jocelyn Blanchard, Asso. Sector Director, (413) 747-8946
Office fax number: (508) 366-7528
Address:
Web Site: http://www.specialolympicsma.org
Directions:
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locations vary, please call Jocelyn Blanchard at 413-747-8946 |
Miscellaneous Information
| Are any opportunities appropriate for youth ages 18 or under? If yes, what age range? |
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Minimum 13 - 17 are welcome with adult supervision. Volunteers 18+ may work without supervision.
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| Last updated on January 23, 2009 |
