Special Olympics, Extraordinary People

I remember a few years ago, my friends and I used to hang out at this local pub called "Alley-Oops." There was a young man named Chad who used to come around, with his family, to sing karaoke. He happened to be the son of Stock Car Driver and former NASCAR racer Kenny Brightbill. He was always very bright and full of good spirit. He also had Down Syndrome.

It always amazed me how, every Friday night, he would get so excited to have the chance to get up in front of everyone and sing his favorite Hootie and the Blowfish tunes as we all cheered him on! I remembered thinking about how genuinely happy and full of life this young teenager was. While my friends and I spent our time complaining about "how hard our work week was" over a couple of drinks, Chad was perfectly happy with the simplest of things in his life.

Chad having some fun with the crowd!

This reminds me of how I had always wanted to work with children who were "handicapable" and those with mental and physical disabilites. But, for some reason, I never pursued that goal. Perhaps it was because of my lack of confidence in myself as I was never exactly a "book-smart" student in school by any definition of the word.

Even though I am not actually qualified enough to be able to work with such inspiring individuals, I can still help them in my own special little way. Therefore, I have chosen to support our local Special Olympics located in Norristown, PA. As I read through their website, I realized just how important this organization really is. Special Olympics is a life-changing opportunity for those who have not had the same advantages in life as some of us. They provide year-round sports training for both children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Not only do they provide continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, but they help to give these very extraordinary individuals the chance to built and demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in sharing gifts, skills, and friendship with their families and fellow athletes, and the community. But most importantly, it allows them to develop confidence in themselves. And let's face it, that is something we can all use a little of!