First off I would like to start by saying how excited we all are to be kicking this project off! Along with the typical activities in fall, like jumping in a pile of leaves, drinking apple cider, and decorating for Halloween, we have been anxiously awaiting the start of our Special Olympics Little Athletes Program!
I personally wanted to live in Summit Park because it was an opportunity to get one of the programs that I care about started on campus that Drury did not already have started. I volunteered for the Special Olympics Program all four years of high school. My high school program was where special needs kids from all over the Parkway School District would come and play basketball. All the clubs in my school had an opportunity to set up an activity table for the kids when they weren’t playing basketball. While volunteering my freshman year I had a mother come up to our table with her son, she couldn’t stop saying how thankful she was for us being there. Making them happy made me feel better, so I continued to volunteer every year. So, when I heard from my friends about a chance to make our own community service project on campus I offered up this idea.
I have always been the volunteer rather than the organizer of projects, so I hope to gain some experience as one of the leaders of Special Olympics. It’ll be interesting to be someone calling the shots instead of being told how to help. I also hope that we have the chance to really get to know these amazing kids, and that they get to know us throughout the year.
One of the main problems that we ran into when trying to get started was getting the information we needed from the Special Olympics coordinator. Her office had been completely destroyed in the Joplin tornado, so all summer she was trying to get her new office set up in Springfield. Needless to say, it was difficult for her to meet up with us, but we now have everything we need to get this party started!
Our plan is to start a Special Olympics Little Athletes program here on Drurys campus. Basically, we will start this semester by having a four week program of teaching the fundamentals of sports to kids from the ages of 3-7. We will soon be contacting local schools and daycares around the area to see who would be interested in getting involved. We also have the necessary paperwork for our volunteers, so we will be trying to recruit some volunteers as well.
I’ve always loved any chance to volunteer, and I know that we are all going to have a great year working with these wonderful children.
-Suzy B.
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