As Special Olympics Oregon navigates the return to activities this fall season, we invite you to join us and help spread inclusion in Oregon.
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Clackamas County is back in person with a Tennis Match. |
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Unified Champion Schools
HOOPLA Tournament
On August 7th, multiple Unified Champion School programs competed in the Oregon HOOPLA 3 v 3 basketball tournament at the state capitol. The teams that competed were from McKay High School, McNary High School, North Salem High School, South Salem High School, Sprague High School, West Salem High School, and a combined team with Pacific University and Forest Grove High School students. A Salem Best Buddies team competed as well. For the Salem-Keizer school district, this was the last activity that concluded their District Summer Unified camp that ran for six weeks!
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Athlete
Mary Stevens
Meet Mary Stevens, a Special Olympics Oregon athlete from Jackson County who's been participating since 2002.
The pandemic has been isolating and depressing for Mary, as it’s been for many other athletes. It’s been difficult not being able to see friends and teammates on a regular basis, and not having the ability to compete in SOOR sports. But there has been a silver lining for Mary throughout this experience. Mary started participating in SOOR Active’s fitness and wellness classes last summer and it’s provided her with a whole new perspective on life and she’s learning more about herself than she thought she knew.
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Volunteer
Lauren Richards
Lauren Richards is one of our amazing facilitators in SOOR Active. She leads a weekly cardio class for athletes and has been involved with our SOOR Active fitness and wellness community for the past year. Last summer Lauren contacted SOOR to see how she could get involved and volunteer virtually, as she’d previously volunteered with Special Olympics and was very passionate about our mission.
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Partner
Subaru
In spite of many challenges to this year’s Plane Pull, and uncertain outcomes, the team at Subaru excitedly embraced this new partnership. Having Subaru as presenting sponsor for Plane Pull allowed SOOR to expand event awareness and reach new audiences like never before. Out of the 40 teams that registered for this year’s event, only 8 were teams that had participated in previous years. This level of growth would have previously been unattainable without the strong backing by Subaru and will set the stage for even greater years of future growth.
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Hero
Pam Ramsey
Pam Ramsey, a probation officer for the Yamhill County Department of Community Justice, has been a monumental advocate and champion for our Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Oregon for a number of years. Pam won the Ken Davis Award in 2016, an award given annually to a member of the LETR community who exemplifies the standards set by the late Ken Davis for community service and dedication to the mission of SOOR. “In the work that we do there’s not a lot of positives sometimes so being able to have this in our lives is really important.” This year in particular, Pam has been monumental in SOOR’s efforts to launch our 2021 Plane Pull, presented by Subaru event. “The biggest thing about this entire [organization], why I do it, is the athletes. That first Tip-a-Cop event I just fell in love with them.” Pam’s commitment to our athletes throughout the years is inspiring, and we are so grateful for her and the entire Law Enforcement Torch Run team of dedicated volunteers.
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Law Enforcement Torch Run 2021 |
Didn't get a chance to run? There is still time! Buy your t-shirt now and do a solo run to inspire inclusion for SOOR athletes in your area of the state! |
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Athlete and graphic designer, Kevin Zwart, shared his talents with SOOR this year for the 2021 Plane Pull. Kevin designed our 2021
t-shirt in collaboration with our Plane Pull volunteer committee, saying "I enjoy learning new techniques and collaborating with others."
Check out more of Kevin's designs in his studio portfolio and order your shirt with registration at the Plane Pull.
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Esports
Unified Rocket League
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We are excited to announce our involvement in a multi-state Unified Rocket League esports season! 2 Special Olympics Oregon teams will join forces with teams from Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York for the competition. The Unified League will launch in October and will be live-streamed through Special Olympics North America. Learn More »
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Our Mission
Special Olympics Oregon provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children, youth and adults living with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
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