Success Stories
Success Stories
Success Stories09/09/2011
Special Olympics Athlete Shane Weagley Awarded High School Varsity Letter
Handley High School in Winchester made a special commitment to its student athletes — those with and without intellectual disabilities — in June when they presented Special Olympics athlete Shane Weagley with his own varsity sports letter. Read Full Story
08/01/2011
Andrew Bliss: Leaving Limits in the Dust
For most people, running a 50K over beaten mountain paths and dirt roads would be challenging. But Andrew Bliss is not most people. Not only has Andrew, a 22-year-old Special Olympics Virginia athlete, run 10 of these ultra-marathons since his first race in 2008, but he has also completed 10 regular marathons, 20 half-marathons, and many other shorter races. Read Full Story
06/24/2011
Celebrating a Special Milestone
Did you know, Special Olympics athletes are five times more likely to be employed than the general population of adults with intellectual disabilities? Special Olympics athlete Kirsten Stone just celebrated her one-year anniversary at Booz Allen Hamilton, who also employs Special Olympics athletes Ashley Counts and David Egan.
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02/26/2010
Special Olympics: We Can't Imagine Life Without It
Special Olympics success stories just wouldn’t be complete without testimonials from parents whose children benefit from our programs. Parent Janet Brandt, whose daughter Lindsey has been a very active athlete in our state program since 2000, says "participating in Special Olympics has had the unexpected result of creating a social and support network that we couldn’t live without.” Read Full Story
09/15/2009
Eunice Shriver's Legacy Lives On
Special Olympics Virginia athlete and Global Messenger Frank Stephens stole the show at this year's Greater Washington Sports Alliance Sneakerball, during which he accepts an award on behalf of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Read Full Story
08/01/2009
Mini-Golf Sparks Major Passion
Lance Doll discovered his passion for volunteering with the swing of a golf club – on a Putt Putt course in Dayton, Ohio. As a participant in Special Olympics Ohio’s Corporate Games equivalent, Battle of the Businesses, Lance was paired with a team of Special Olympics athletes and their parents for a round of mini-golf. Read Full Story
08/01/2009
Special Olympics: More than Sports
Special Olympics is all about sports, and then again, it’s not about sports at all.
When Laura Mullin’s son Jake began the countdown to his 5th birthday last July, Laura wondered where they would find the space to store more toys. Just as she was reorganizing Jake’s room in her head, a light bulb went off. What if, instead of toys and trinkets, Jake asked his friends to bring volleyballs and golf balls – not for Jake, though, but for Special Olympics athletes? Read Full Story
08/01/2009
Karen Dickerson: Running Toward Inclusion
Special Olympics Virginia athlete Karen Dickerson is most at home when her running shoes are pounding the pavement. Six days a week, several miles a day, all year long. Karen, a Special Olympics athlete who lives in Springfield, Va., is a runner – a marathon runner.
She's laced up her running shoes everywhere from Richmond, Va., for the Richmond Marathon, to Dublin, Ireland, for the 2003 World Games, to Shanghai, China, for the 2007 World Games Torch Run Final Leg. In April 2008, Karen laced them up again for her second run in the Boston Marathon. Wearing bib number 9713, she was racing to beat her 2007 time: 3 hours, 24 minutes and 58 seconds. Read Full Story
