Our annual day of awareness, the first Wednesday of every March, is fast approaching! Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) invites you to become a champion for the Spread the Word to End the Word Movement and to support eliminating the use of the demeaning R-word, “retard” or “retard(ed)”.

Written by Anna Olsen, AmeriCorps Member Wisconsin DPI/Special Olympics Wisconsin

I have been serving as an AmeriCorps member with Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) since September of 2012. The first SOWI event I attended was a Regional Bowling Tournament. It was great to see the Special Olympics athletes succeed and celebrate their achievements together. The atmosphere was friendly, competitive, and inspiring all at once.

In 2013, students across Wisconsin will make a difference by advocating for inclusion and equality for individuals with intellectual disabilities in their schools.

On May 3, students, teachers, and staff from 17 Project UNIFY schools converged in Madison for the 2012 Spring Youth Activation Summit entitled “Takin’ it to the Streets”. The morning consisted of three sessions – Disabilities 101, Natural Supports, and the Athlete Leadership Program (public speaking). Each one focused on helping both the students and their teachers to be advocates in their own schools and allowed them to generate ideas on how to improve their school climates.

Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) is proud to announce that Americorps member, Ally Armstrong, is the recipient of the Serve Wisconsin Disability Inclusion Service of the Governor’s Service Award! Armstrong’s hard work ethic, dedication, understanding, self-motivation, and passion earned her this award.

On Thursday, May 3rd, students with and without intellectual disabilities from more than 20 statewide middle and high schools will gather in Madison for SOWI’s Spring Youth Activation Summit. The Youth Activation Summit is one component of Project UNIFY® --a program which activates youth to promote school communities where all young people are agents of change – fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities.
 

With 122 campaigns taking place across the state, hundreds of individuals have pledged to end their use of the R-Word (“retard” or “retarded”) Students and adults alike are dispelling the myth “names will never hurt me” by promoting respect and inclusion to help others understand the impact that words can have.

Special Olympics and Best Buddies Ask Supporters to Share Their Stories as Part of the 4th Annual Spread the Word to End the Word Awareness Day

Walking into the Union Grove High School field house on Thursday night, you would have thought the Broncos had changed their team colors from red and white to black and green. The jam packed student section was flooded with Spread the Word to End the Word™ T-shirts in support of the school-wide effort to raise awareness of the hurtful effects of the R-Word.

The AmeriCorps position with Special Olympics Wisconsin is in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The member will assist Special Olympics Wisconsin in reaching out to local schools, universities, community groups and businesses to become involved with various Special Olympics Wisconsin programs, in particular Project UNIFY. The position will provide opportunities to be engaged in programming, marketing, volunteer management, outreach, budgeting, mentoring, and special events.