Philly Athletes Have a Night to Shine

Ten Special Olympics Pennsylvania - Philadelphia athletes attended a Night to Shine, in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation, on February 12, 2016. Night to Shine is an unforgettable prom night experience for people with special needs ages 16 and older.

Our athletes looked amazing as they entered the prom on a red carpet complete with welcoming and friendly "paparazzi.” Once inside, our athletes received the VIP treatment including mini hair and makeup stations, shoe shining stations, corsages and boutonnieres, a karaoke room, and of course, dinner and dancing!  The highlight of the night came when every one of the Night to Shine guests were crowned as a king or queen of the prom.

Athletes in attendance included: Teddy Angerman, Ian Aviso, Jackie Lutts, Heather Lutts, Stephen McGarry, Emmett Abdo, James Shelton, Stanley Dluzniewski, Kelly Dluzniewski, and Kristie Walls.

Check out Fox 29 news coverage of the event! 

SONA Coach of the Year Finalist

Frances Moore from our Philadelphia program has been recognized as a Special Olympics North America 2015 Coach-of-the-Year Finalist. The Special Olympics North America (SONA) Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a Special Olympics coach who has made a significant and demonstrable impact on local Special Olympics Programs and their communities.

As a Coach-of-the-Year recipient, Fran is in the company of the region’s finest coaches – true leaders and dedicated coaches who serve as role models to other coaches, inside and outside of Special Olympics.  She has positively impacted athletes, family members and the community.  We are grateful for her hard work, applaud her high standards of excellence, and admire her generosity of heart.  Fran is now considered among SONA’s Coaching Dream Team that consists of 16 additional finalists and the Coach of the Year, Tom Norton from Canada.

About Frances (Fran) Moore

Fran is an inspirational person with an enthusiastic attitude.  Since she started volunteering for Special Olympics PA - Philadelphia a decade ago, she has served on the Management Team where she held the Family Coordinator position.  Within that position, Fran lead the charge to solicit athlete input and take their feedback into consideration in all aspects of Special Olympics programming.

She believes that all athletes have a voice and should be heard. That is why she also serves as a mentor for her daughter Katie Moore, who is a Global Messenger.  Through Fran’s efforts, four athletes now serve as mentors to their fellow teammates; and she has encouraged and mentored three other former aquatics athletes.

Fran is currently certified in soccer and aquatics where she trains over 100 athletes each week and dedicates every weekend to coach.  As a physical therapist, Fran knows that eating healthy, training, and proper stretching are the keys to being a healthy athlete.  She encourages her athletes to eat healthy and teaches them proper techniques to stretching before and after practices. 

In addition to her commitment to our current athletes, families and volunteers, Fran is always in search of new coaches.  Over the past several years, Fran has recruited more than 10 coaches to assist at aquatics trainings.

Fran has positively impacted the entire Philadelphia program, as evidenced by her receiving the 2015 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Coach of the Year Award. 

SOPA Advocates for Federal Support on Capitol Hill

Special Olympics athletes, leaders, and family members from 39 states converged on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on February 10th for Special Olympics’ 14th Annual “Capitol Hill Day.”  Throughout the day, Special Olympics athletes from across the nation, including Special Olympics Pennsylvania – Bedford County athlete Christa Mereen, held more than 250 face-to-face meetings with their Congressional representatives to advocate for continued federal support for critical health and education services provided by Special Olympics. These services transcend the playing field and transform the lives of athletes and families, bringing inclusion and greater acceptance of all abilities to classrooms across the country and providing essential health care that is otherwise often unavailable due to the lack of trained health care providers and facilities.

Special Olympics self-advocates educated lawmakers and their staffs about the significant consequences that arise from the stigma and stereotypes that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face and how that impacts their lives in the areas of sports, health care, education, and employment. The goal is to effectively convey the high-impact and cost-effectiveness of Special Olympics’ evidence-based programming that addresses these issues, and to secure continued support from legislators.

Christa was able to meet with several staff members as well as officials like Rep. Mike Doyle for PA’s 14th Congressional District, Rep. Ryan Costello for the 16th District, Congressman Glenn Thompson for the 5th District, Rep. Lou Barletta for the 11th District, and Rep. Bill Shuster for the 9th District.  Click here to view Capitol Hill Day photos.

 

Capitol Hill Day concluded with a private reception at the Library of Congress for participating Special Olympics athletes and their state delegations. 

Special thanks to our athlete representative Christa Mereen who was accompanied by her family members, Marty, Tom and Kate Mereen, and Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s VP of Finance and Administration Susan Wyland. 

World Winter Games 2017 Pre-Games

Team USA Speed Skaters with their medals. Tim (Area M), Rory (North Carolina) and Dan (Area M).

Two speed skating athletes, Tim McConnell and Dan Weatherwalk, and Coach Amanda Kateluzos from Special Olympics PA’s Area M program participated in the Special Olympics 2017 World Winter Pre-Games in Austria from January 10 – 15, 2016.  The Pre-Games served as an opportunity for athletes to come and test, feel out World Winter Games events, and be exposed to what the Winter Games (including the Host Town) will offer for the actual World Winter Games!  

Team USA with their medals.

Sporting competitions in figure and speed skating, stock sports, floorball, alpine skiing and snowboarding, motor activity training, and nordic skiing and snowshoeing were offered.  The competitions were held in Graz, Schladming and Ramsau for more than 1,000 athletes and 500 trainers from 21 participating nations.  The Games also included Opening, Award, and Closing ceremonies, as well as Healthy Athletes programs.  

The Special Olympics World Winter Games will take place in Austria from March 14 – 25 in 2017. Visit www.austria2017.org. 

Warren County Athletes Make Holiday Donation

Special Olympics Pennsylvania – Warren County collected non-perishable food items from athletes and volunteers during their annual Christmas party held on December 6th.   The athletes decided to donate the items collected to the food pantry at the First Church of the Nazarene.  This food pantry provides approximately 5,000 lbs. of food to more than 150 families per month.  The food pantry is able to support these families through local donations of food and money.  

Shown in the photo from Special Olympics are Norm Kightlinger, Kayla Smith, Mike Gray, Nicole Huya and Cindy Zaffino.  Also pictured from the First Church of the Nazarene food pantry are David Snyder and Jim Swanson.  

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. 

Unified Sports Athlete Receives Jimmy Medal

On Friday, November 27th, three athletes along with their dates attended the 136th Annual Philadelphia Charity Ball.  Special Olympics Pennsylvania has been the beneficiary of the Ball for multiple years, and was again the beneficiary this year.  Philadelphia athletes Ian Capacio and Ally Rutizer attended the Ball along with Interscholastic Unified Sports (IUS) athlete Brandon Velez-Roa who took IUS partner, Katlyn Geist, as his date.

Brandon Velez-Roa, who is a student at Abraham Lincoln High School, received the Jimmy Medal at the 2015 Philadelphia Charity Ball. The Jimmy Medal identifies and celebrates individuals who make a positive difference in the lives of others.  Though their actions they exemplify the virtues of resiliency, humility, empathy and loyalty.

Brandon participates as an athlete in both Unified Bocce and Soccer with Special Olympics at his school.  “He is a fantastic athlete who loves competing and displays tremendous effort and attitude both on and off the field,” said his coach Michael Turchi.  His peers and teachers describe him as kind, friendly, coachable and a very lovable young man.  Brandon’s outgoing and optimistic demeanor has made him not only a great athlete, but also a wonderful friend and role model for all of the students at Abraham Lincoln High School.

Brandon has also participated with his fellow team and classmates in the “Spread the Word to End the Word” Campaign at his school, which is a Special Olympics initiative that asks people to pledge to stop saying the “R-word” (retard) as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people. Through the “Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign,” students pledge not to use the “R-word” and instead promote respect and an inclusive climate for all students.