Client Spotlight: Special Olympics Ohio
Client Spotlight: Special Olympics Ohio
Jessica Stewart, CEO of Special Olympics Ohio, shares insights on the organization’s athletes and the numerous events the organization holds worldwide.
How did you first get involved in Special Olympics?
My connection to those with intellectual disability goes back to my aunt. I moved to Ohio when I was in high school, and we temporarily moved in with my grandparents and my aunt who had an intellectual and physical disability. I shared a room with her and really came to understand the challenges of those with disabilities, so my first passion really started there.
We lost my aunt earlier than we anticipated due to colorectal cancer, and I thought, “Who is advocating for the health of those with intellectual disabilities?” And from there I dedicated my career to answering that question.
What should everyone know about Special Olympics?
Special Olympics is a Global organization and the largest nonprofit organization in the world that serves those with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport. I think what makes us special is that we have a fantastic opportunity for individuals to come into the organization, whether as athletes, coaches, or health advocates and participate in events that happen every day across local communities, to the state championships, to the USA Games, and on up to the World Games.
If there was one thing I wish everybody knew about Special Olympics it’s that our population is those with intellectual disabilities. Many people think we focus on children, but the average age of our athletes is 30. We retain athletes from their youngest point of entry in a Young Athletes program in kindergarten, all the way up to 80-year-old basketball players. Our program keeps athletes for a lifetime. We’re a vast organization that participants can plug into at any age.
We’re an organization born on the premise of inclusion and diversity, and we want folks to understand who our athletes are. There’s nothing more eye opening than just having a conversation with our athletes. And I wish people would spend time with them and see that they have the same needs, the same desires, the same wants that everyone does.
When we treat people with intellectual disabilities as equals, we really see the beauty and what our athletes have to provide this world, and that’s a pretty powerful thing.
Getting back to normal
After having to cancel activities in 2020 and 2021, we’re taking our largest delegation ever to the 2022 USA Games, which takes place in Orlando the first week of June. We have our delegation selected, and we are asking for support, financial or otherwise, to ensure the trip is successful for our athletes and Unified partners.
We are also back on track for the last weekend in June at the Ohio State University for the Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games. We host a variety of sports, but we traditionally bring 1500 athletes in for track and field alone. We also have volleyball, soccer, tennis, bowling, and bocce, and other sporting events. We normally bring in about 3000 athletes and 6000 volunteers and coaches, so I would love for folks to put that on their radar if they’re interested in getting involved.
I would encourage anyone to get involved at a local level if they’re interested in coaching. Coaching is probably one of our single most important positions in the organization; it’s really what shapes and molds our athletes.
For more information, you can always check out our website at https://sooh.org/
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