In the 1960s, Eunice Kennedy Shriver began a day camp for people with developmental disabilities. Camp took place in Eunice's back yard during the summer, and in 1968 turned into what has come to be known as the Special Olympics.
The first Special Olympics games took place in the summer of 1968 at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. Swimming and track and field were the first two sports that participants competed in, and that summer over 1,000 people from both the US and Canada competed in the events.
As time progressed, the Special Olympics began to grow. In 1977, the first Special Olympics games to take place in the winter were held in Steamboat Springs, CO. In 1987, a holiday rock and roll CD was released, with all the profits going toward supporting the Special Olympics. In 1988, individual Special Olympics sports teams started to emerge in addition to the quadrennial world games. By 2006, more than 2.5 million individuals were participating in Special Olympics activities worldwide.
The Special Olympics is continuously growing and expanding. New members, donors, and volunteers are joining the organization daily, and new programs are continuously evaluated and implemented.
Los Angeles, CA will host the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games. This will be the first time in 16 years that the World Summer Games have taken place on US turf!
For more information on the Special Olympics and how you can get involved visit http://www.specialolympics.org/.
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver
1921 - 2009
