SOPA Athletes Participate in De11e Donne Girls Camp

Elena Delle Donne, professional basketball player with the WNBA Chicago Sky and 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year, hosted a Girls Basketball Camp for ages 9 – 18 on Sunday, December 13, 2015 at Cardinal O'Hara High School, located in Springfield, PA.  The focus of these camps is to help girls to improve their basketball skills while learning the importance of loving the game!   It also helps to promote the importance of creating opportunities for people without intellectual disabilities to join in the sports experience by playing on a team with athletes with intellectual disabilities.  The inclusive Basketball Camp involved students from Cardinal O'Hara and Special Olympics Pennsylvania athletes from Delaware and Chester Counties: Lilly Seagraves, Jane Barnes, Abby Smeltzer, Meghan Greim, and Tamsin Hircock.

 Delle Donne joined the Special Olympics family as the movement’s newest Global Ambassador in support of the organization’s efforts in promoting acceptance, inclusion, respect and dignity for people with intellectual disabilities.  As part of her role as an Ambassador, Elena extends invitations to Special Olympics athletes to join her at her De11e Donne Girls Camp and has worked to promote basketball development within Special Olympics, particularly among girls.