Most of us are familiar with the Olympic Games – the Summer Edition of which opens this July in London! The pagentry, sportsmanship and national pride it inspires keeps many viewers glued to their TVs for a couple of weeks. Many of us are also familiar with the Special Olympics, an organization which inspires that same athletic spirit and feelings of pride for adults and children with intellectual disabilities.
If you’ve never attended or volunteered at a Special Olympics event, it’s one of the most inspiring celebrations of sport you can experience. Special Olympics empowers people with intellectual disabilities to realize their full potential and develop their skills through year-round sports training and competition. Today, Special Olympics Colorado serves more than 10,000 athletes with a volunteer base of over 6,000 and provides opportunities to train and compete in over 20 Olympic-type sports year-round. Children and adults with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics exhibit boundless courage and enthusiasm, enjoy the rewards of friendship and ultimately discover not only new abilities and talents but “their voices” as well. All of this is exemplified in the oath each athlete swears before competition: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let be brave in the attempt.”
As it is with all non-profits, raising funds can sometimes be a challenge. Special Olympics Colorado created the “Polar Plunge” several years ago as a fundraising effort and it has seen amazing growth each year since – thanks in part to the use of social media. This year, Matt Adams – a good friend of Ramblin Jackson – agreed to represent us at the Boulder Reservoir plunge and raised just over $1,000 for Special Olympics Colorado! An amazing job, Matt! Our own Chris Woodley went out to cover the event and here’s a brief report.
Pro Tip: BACK UP YOUR DATA
Recently we experienced a minor hiccup in our work flow when Chris’ computer went wonky bonky. Fortunately, at Ramblin Jackson, we take our data very seriously and back it up all the time. But we know that not everyone else is doing this, so this week’s pro tip is to backup your data!
Here’s Chris with a couple of reasonably priced, convenient options to make sure your data stays protected.
We hope you like Special Olympics Colorado on Facebook, and we hope you have a great week! See you next friday!
