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365 Newsletter - Special Olympics Florida

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April, 2009

State Summer Games
Only Two Weeks Away!

The 37th Annual Special Olympics Florida State Summer Games will be May 15-16 at Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex.

This is the largest Special Olympics event held in Florida annually, with over 3,500 athletes, coaches and family members taking part in the two-day event.

Athletes of all ages and skill levels will compete in athletics (track & field), bocce, cycling, soccer, tennis and volleyball.

And you can be a part of it! We need volunteers to help with the Games and no prior experience with Special Olympics is necessary.

Get more info on the Summer Games

Not 100% sure yet? Watch our super-cool 1 minute video

Register to Volunteer now!

We also need health professionals to volunteer their time and expertise to conduct screenings as part of our Healthy Athletes initiatives. Athletes attending the Summer Games may receive free health screenings in an array of disciplines, at no cost to the athlete.

All health professionals will receive training, so prior experience working with people with intellectual disabilities is not required.

Learn more about Healthy Athletes, select your discipline and sign up to volunteer!

Trisha Torre: Indian River Athlete at "Home" with Making History

Trisha Torre of Indian River County began participating in Special Olympics over 17 years ago.

In addition to being an accomplished athlete, Trisha is a Special Olympics Global Messenger (trained in public speaking and media interviews), an Athlete Input Council Member (giving voice to her fellow athletes) and was selected to represent her peers at the Special Olympics Florida Athlete Congress on two occasions.

When she's not training, competing or volunteering on behalf of Special Olympics, she works at her neighborhood Publix and makes custom jewelry.

Yet none of these accomplishments compare to what happened to Trisha on April 25: she became a home owner.

In fact, she became the very first person with intellectual disabilities to earn a Habitat for Humanity home in Indian River County....

Meet the 2009 Class
of Global Messengers!

There is no one better suited to share the story of Special Olympics than the athlete themselves. That's the thinking behind Special Olympics' innovative Global Messenger program.

And on April 19, nine more athletes became official Global Messengers!

Global Messengers are Special Olympics athletes who are formally trained in public speaking and media interview techniques, in order to help spread the word about Special Olympics, educate the community, and recruit potential athletes, volunteers, families and sponsors.

Keep reading and meet the Global Messengers...

Miami Students Spread the Word to End the Word!

On March 31, over 700 Palmetto High School (Miami) students took part in a Youth Rally as part of a national, youth-lead day of awareness for America to stop and think about their use of the R-word. That R-word is not "recession," but something more hurtful and painful - "retard."

The goal of Spread the Word to End the Word is to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the R-word and encourage people to pledge to stop using it.

The 50-minute rally featured actor Eddie Barbanell from the hit movie "The Ringer," Special Olympics athletes and volunteers, and original music performed by rap artist Rush. The event was produced by Palmetto High School student Noah Gray and Special Olympics.

Learn more about Noah and watch the Palmetto High School Spread the Word event.

Learn how you can help "Spread the Word to End the Word"

Publix Super Markets, Special Olympics the Law Enforcement Torch Run:
A Winning Team!

Proving that not even a bad economy can deter the generosity of Floridians, Publix Super Markets associates and customers raised a remarkable $1,029,144.35 in just three weeks for Special Olympics Florida as part of an annual promotion, in partnership with Procter & Gamble, which ran during the month of January.

By purchasing paper torches for $1, $3 or $5, Publix associates and customers throughout Florida showed their support of Special Olympics!

Publix presented the $1 million check during a ceremony for the Florida Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics on the steps of the State Capitol in Tallahassee on April 14. A supporter of Special Olympics Florida for thirty-seven years, Publix serves as the Premier Sponsor of Special Olympics Florida, and the Premier Sponsor of the annual Florida Law Enforcement Torch Run.

And speaking of the Law Enforcement Torch Run...it's making it's way through Florida as we speak!

The 2009 Torch Run is currently underway and over 350 Florida law enforcement agencies are carrying the torch on four simultaneous intrastate legs, covering thousands of miles. The four legs will meet for the culminating Final Leg on May 15 when the "Flame of Hope" is escorted in to the Summer Games Opening Ceremony at Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex.

Law Enforcement representatives raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics Florida by selling collectible t-shirts and caps and hosting fundraising events throughout the year.

See if the Torch Run is on its way to your town!

See photos from the Torch Run and Capitol Ceremony

Photos Above, Left to Right: Leon County athletes Cyrus Buker (l) and Brian Shockley (r) with Tallahassee PD Officer and LETR volunteer John Newland; Publix check presentation for nearly $1.5M (for funds raised for S.O. in all states where Publix operates) - left to right - Lou Bruno of promotion partner Procter & Gamble, athlete Brian Shockley, Phil Harrison of Publix, Special Olympics FL President Monty Castevens, FL Attorney General Bill McCollum, FL Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp; Law Enforcement representatives from an array of agencies carried the "Flame of Hope" through Tallahassee.

L-R: Barry Gutin of Cuba Libre, CJ Piantieri, Joe Piscopo, Monty Castevens, Meggan VanLoon, Richard Mendola, Larry Cohen of Cuba Libre.

Cuba Libre Restaurant Hosts Spectacular Event for Central Florida "Champions"

Seven hundred Central Floridians attended the first-ever Special Olympics Florida Champions' Mixer, hosted by Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar, on Thursday, March 26.

Thanks to Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar's full sponsorship of the event, Special Olympics Florida had a rare opportunity to gather and thank its many supporters throughout the Central Florida area, and to introduce Central Floridians of influence to the organization.

The invitation-only event featured a generous array of Cuba Libre's traditional and contemporary Cuban fare (James Beard Award-winning Concept Chef Guillermo Pernot was on hand), Cuba Libre's signature mojitos, live entertainment, celebrities and local dignitaries, and live auction.

SNL veteran, actor and Special Olympics supporter Joe Piscopo served as the evening's celebrity auctioneer, and was joined by Libre Management President & CEO Barry Gutin. The event raised over $10,000, which will help provide services and programs to Special Olympics athletes.

With one of Orlando's newest and most unique restaurants as the setting, the high-energy evening celebrated Special Olympics and its "fans," and called upon Central Floridians to understand and support the needs of the children and adults with intellectual disability we serve.

"Our goal was to broaden our base of supporters in the Central Florida area and to encourage those who attended to 'champion' the cause through whatever means they may: financial support, in-kind services, advocacy, volunteerism, etc." said Monty Castevens, President, Special Olympics Florida.

Barry Gutin, President and CEO of Libre Management, which owns and operates Cuba Libre, emphasized his commitment to being the restaurant of choice for the local community. "Our involvement with Special Olympics Florida represents our pledge to support Central Florida non-profit organizations and marks the beginning of a new initiative we are unveiling, called "A Month of Giving." It is important to us to be as closely tied to as many facets of the community as possible," he added. (See "Upcoming Events" below for Month of Giving details).

Check out photos from the Champions' Mixer!

Florida's Very First Young Athletes Program Debuts in Orange County

Since its inception in 1968, Special Olympics has offered sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities who are 8 years old and older. Now, there is a program being launched statewide in Florida called Special Olympics Young Athletes that is geared to children ages 2 to 7 years old.

The Special Olympics Young Athletes program is an innovative sports play program for children ages 2-7 with intellectual disabilities and their peers (disabled and non-disabled), designed to introduce them to the world of sports.

And Special Olympics Florida's very first Young Athletes program was officially unveiled at Thornebrooke Elementary in Ocoee (near Orlando) on April 30!

The event was both a culmination/celebratory event for the seven Young Athletes who have completed 24 skill-building training sessions, and a chance for educators, health professionals, and parents of children with special needs to learn about the program, which is offered free of charge to the Young Athletes and their families...

How Tweet it is to Be a fan of Special Olympics!

That's right, you can now follow Special Olympics Florida on Twitter! Just follow us at "soflinfo"

Twitter's a great way to keep up with cool news, facts and fun info about Special Olympics Florida and it's completely free! Don't have a Twitter account yet? Sign up today, search "soflinfo" or "Special Olympics FL" and start following us!

And as if that weren't enough, we have another great new resource for you...

Whether you are a brand new fan of Special Olympics and not sure where to start, or an existing fan in search of ideas on how to increase your fandom (OK, so that's not a real word, but it may be one day if we build a big enough fandom), we've got just the help you need!

Check out our new "How to be a fan" page for ideas, big and small, on how you can support Special Olympics!

Of course, this page is only a partial list - there are countless ways you can be a fan of Special Olympics: financial support, volunteerism, advocacy, donation of in-kind services, wearing cool Special Olympics gear everywhere you go...the list goes on and on.

We want your involvement with Special Olympics to be meaningful, so make your fan experience what you want it to be!

Get fan ideas now!

Home Depot: Bocce Champs!

Thanks to the generosity of Home Depot, Florida's bocce competitors will get to try out brand new courts at the State Summer Games, May 15-16.

A quick "Bocce 101:" bocce is an increasingly popular sport in Special Olympics and is most commonly thought of as "Italian lawn bowling;" where the object is to roll the large colored balls closest to the small white ball, for points. We're oversimplifying it, but you get the picture.

During the 2008 State Summer Games, Art Bjork (Special Olympics Florida's Bocce Director) used two experimental, portable PVC courts, designed by Special Olympics bocce official and volunteer, Jack Moyer.

By comparison to the old, cumbersome wooden courts, the newly designed courts were much easier to set up, looked great, and were easier to tear down and store. So Art decided that for the 2009 Summer Games, he would convert all eight necessary courts to the new format plus add two more courts for a total of ten, in order to accommodate the growing number of bocce participants.

Art then spoke with Dante Glasso, the store manager of Home Depot in Ocala, Florida regarding a community grant to make his vision become a reality. Long story short: the grant was approved and in April Kevin Kingsley, of the Ocala store (pictured above in orange shirt, with Art Bjork), delivered the new courts to Special Olympics Florida.

Home Depot did more than just provide the 1600 running feet of PVC: they also provided 320 12" galvanized nails, 60 PVC connectors, and the labor to pre-cut and drill the courts. As if that wasn't enough, Home Depot will send a crew of their own employees to the State Summer Games to help with the set up.

Many thanks to Dante Glasso, Kevin Kingsley, and everyone at Home Depot for giving our bocce athletes the beautiful competition courts they deserve!

What's Next?

Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy: May 13, Miami. Now this is cool: two Special Olympics Miami-Dade athletes, Martin Lozano and Rudy Rubio Flores, will perform in feature roles with the original Broadway cast of world-class athletes, musicians, and artists of "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy" when the show performs at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County on Wednesday, May 13. And $5 of every ticket for the May 13 performance will benefit Special Olympics Miami-Dade!