This was an idea of Mrs Shrivel who saw the need to ensure that each and every intellectually disabled person in the society was catered for appropriately through a number of sporting activities. It was first started in the year 1962 at her backyard and as time went on it became a very big organization. This is an organization that was formally formed in the year 1976 to help cater for the needs of the intellectually disabled in each and every society throughout the whole of Australia. This is mainly done through the provision of various sporting activities which are aimed at giving the intellectually disabled people in the community something to keep them active and also to participate in various activities which are organised with some prizes at stake.
This is something that the Special Olympics Australia Charity Organization has been doing for more than forty years now and it has never shown any sign of ever relenting.
Our Mission
It has always been seen that the intellectually disabled are people who do not amount to any good in the society and therefore they are treated with disdain and are also looked down upon by most community members. This is something that the Special Olympics Australia Charity Organization has always sought to correct.
It is therefore the mission of the Organization to see to it that each and every intellectually disabled individual within the community is properly treated through the use of sporting activities.
It is also our mission to create an environment which allows all the intellectually disabled to reach their full potentials as human beings without feeling inferior to anybody.
What we do
There are a whole lot of activities that are undertaken by the Organization and some of these include;
- Helping to change the negative attitude of community members towards those who are intellectually disabled
- Organizing of various sporting events for the intellectually disabled in the community
- Formation of partnerships with a number of sporting organizations
- Helping in the development of the community • Provision of healthcare services
- Training of young athletes and other very important services
All these activities are geared towards ensuring that each and every individual who is intellectually disabled gets to have a chance at making his or her life worthy of living. This has always been the main goal of this organization and it has kept on striving through thick and thin just to see to it that such people are not discriminated against unnecessarily in the community.
It is always very disheartening to get to know that such people who should have been properly catered for are rather treated in a very negative way. Such negative treatments have always resulted in the progressive of these people becoming retarded. That is why this organization has been formed to see to it that each of these individuals is properly and appropriately made to feel very important with his or her life. This is made possible through the provision of the various sporting activities that the organization organizes for such people in the community.
How to get involved with what we do
There are three (3) main ways through which an individual can get involved in the things that we do and these three ways are;
1. As an athlete
Under this way, all the intellectually disabled individuals in the community are given the chance to become members of this noble organization as an athlete. In getting involved as an athlete, the individual, whether inexperienced or experienced is provided with the opportunity to partake in all the events that we organize on the community level and also stand to win any of them medals that are placed on the internationally recognized competitions. This way is mainly for those who are above the age of six. In other words, an intellectually disabled individual must not be less than 6 years old in order to qualify as an athlete in the organization.
2. As a coach
These are those individuals who are mainly focused on providing the intellectually disabled athletes with all the appropriate knowledge and skills which are aimed at helping them to become better in whatever area of sports they have decided to specialize. Being a coach in this organization involves three major things and these things are;
- To become a role model for the athletes
- To help the kids build very positive characters
- To also serve as leaders in the community
These are the three (3) main components of what it means to join the foundation as a coach.
3. As a volunteer
This involves those who dedicate their precious time and energy to the cause of the organization to undertake various activities which are all geared towards making sure the organization achieve its goals. With our volunteer work, there are 3 main ways in which an individual can volunteer and these are;
- As regular volunteers
- As major event volunteers
- As corporate volunteers
The services rendered by both our coaches and those who decide to volunteer for us are what keeps the organization ticking as they provide most of what we render to the intellectually disabled in the society.
How we get our funds
The organization undertakes a variety of activities that helps to raise funds for all the services that we render to all those who are intellectually disabled. Some of these include;
Making Donations
With this, both individuals and organizations are given the chance to donate whatever they wish to contribute to help us reach all our goals.
Fundraising activities
These activities all organized to generate funds for the organization. They include a whole lot of very interesting events which provides the public with a time that goes down as being well spent whilst also raising the needed funds to provide the support services to the intellectually disabled in the society. Some of these fundraising activities are; the International Women’s Breakfast which is organized in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, the ACT Sports Lunch and other very exciting activities.
