Fans Club

Fans Club Handbook

Fans Clubs are unique school-wide clubs that are designed around empowering youth with and without cognitive disabilities to build friendships and promote social justice through a variety of athletic, social, and service projects and activities. Fans Clubs are encouraged to design their own projects involving Unified Sports®, Spread the Word to End the Word™ activities, Be a fan™ campaigns, Fans in the Stands, volunteering, Polar Plunge® teams, Unify Day, Sports Day, etc.

The Fans Club program provides opportunities to build student character, increase acceptance of disabilities, develop leadership and other skills in a service-learning environment, and enhance their school community. It is a program that teaches beyond the classroom and expands students’ social horizons.

A Fans Club should be a sanctioned school club. The meeting schedule and format should follow school club policies and procedures. The support of faculty and administration in both general and special education departments is crucial in ensuring the success of students in the program. In addition, they should network with administration, and the athletic, physical education and special education departments. Each Fans Club determines the activities and events they wish to participate in throughout the school year.

Examples of Fans Club Activities

• Attend local sporting events together
• Fans in the Stands at SOWI competition
• Arrange for a local coach to speak to the club or conduct drills
• Volunteer at a local tournament
• Sponsor a dance for the school
• Have a pizza party or other social gathering
• Run a Spread the Word to End the Word campaign
• Bowling night
• Create a Polar Plunge Team
• Show Movies that Move to homerooms

For more information, contact

Krysten Kirsch - Director of Youth Initiatives
kkirsch@specialolympicswisconsin.org
10224 N. Port Washington Rd.
Mequon, WI 53092
(262) 241-7786
(800) 924-5202