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Beginnings

Every story has a beginning. Every beginning is a story. This month, watch as four different school communities bring inclusion to their campuses. 

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A student from Copper King Elementary puts her arm around another student.

Unified Beginnings: Copper King Elementary School

Bringing Unified Champion Schools programming to Copper King Elementary School was a collaborative effort between the Special Olympics Arizona staff ...

A student hugs a teacher from Sayreville School District in New Jersey.

Unified Beginnings: Sayreville School District

Sayreville School District in New Jersey is a Unified Champion School district. This means that all schools ranging from Pre-K ...

Zoie, a youth leader from Fife High School, WA.

Unified Beginnings: Zoie

Zoie is an exceptional youth leader from Fife High School, WA. Fife was a 2019 ESPN Top 5 Unified Champion School. Zoie ...

Tajha Ilerant smiling.

Discover Your Moment

The #UnifiedGeneration is ready to go #BackToSchool! Through Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools, supported by the U.S. Department of ...

An Image of Loretta Claiborne smiling with her eyes closed. She is in black and white but there is a colorful background behind her.

Happy Birthday, Loretta Claiborne!

Every year on August 24, the Unified Generation celebrates the commitment, bravery, and kindness of Special Olympics Chief Inspiration Officer Loretta ...

Kate takes a photograph of her dog, a chocolate labrador.

#WorldPhotographyDay

Kate’s photography has taken her on unforgettable journeys. To celebrate World Photography Day on August 19, 2020, Kate gave us some ...

Group of students posing in front of a school bus.

#InternationalFriendshipDay

Every year on #InternationalFriendshipDay, we celebrate friendships that are Unified.

President George Bush signs into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 on the South Lawn of the White House. L to R, sitting: Evan Kemp, Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Justin Dart, Chairman, President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. L to R, standing: Rev. Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability, 07/26/1990.

30th Anniversary of the ADA

30 years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. It was a step towards advancing the rights for ...

Eddie Yarbrough seated in a high school classroom.

Eddie Yarbrough is a Champion Ambassador

Eddie Yarbrough, Defensive End for the Minnesota Vikings is a Special Olympics Champion Ambassador. Ever since high school, Eddie has ...

Unified athletes pose for a photograph.

Making the Case for Inclusion: CDC Report

Through Unified Physical Education and Unified Fitness, students of all abilities can get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity. Read ...

The first Special Olympics was held in Chicago.

Special Olympics Celebrates 52 Years

When the first Special Olympics was held in 1968, it was the start of a movement. Today, Special Olympics is a ...

Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver delivers a speech at a podium.

Celebrating Mrs. Shriver

On July 10, we celebrate the founder of the Special Olympics movement, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Every day her legacy shines as ...

Collage of U.S. Youth Ambassadors who are seniors.

Happy Graduation from the #UnifiedGeneration

As the school year comes to an end, hear from our seniors.

A student in his cap and gown.

#Graduation2020

The Unified Generation got to celebrate #Graduation2020 with Facebook and Instagram!

Teacher Diane P. with her students from Burnet Middle School.

Teacher Appreciation Day

On May 5, 2020, we celebrate the hundreds of teachers at the forefront of the Special Olympics movement. The tireless work of ...

Miami Southridge Senior High School receiving their national banner.

ESPN Top 5 Class of 2019

Take a look back at the ESPN Top 5 Unified Champion Schools from 2019-2020.

Shaniya and her brother looking off into the distance.

#UnifiedGeneration

Take a look at our incredible young leaders with and without intellectual disabilities that make up the #UnifiedGeneration

National Siblings Day

This National Siblings Day, Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® celebrates siblings who continue to power our movement through love, support, ...

U.S. Youth Ambassador Tajha (right) posing with her two sisters.

International Women’s Day

Celebrate International Women's Day with the Unified Generation!

Megan and Patrick smiling at the camera.

Megan and Patrick’s Moment

Watch Patrick and Megan’s Moment and learn about their shared inspiration: their sister Jenni.

Two members of an SO College waiving while holding their National Banner.

Inclusion Weekly: National Banner Presentation

In the final episode of Inclusion Weekly, we rejoin the members of the Colorado State University Special Olympics College Club ...

Tanner looking off into the distance.

Tanner’s Moment

Tanner gained a positive outlook on school and life after joining Unified Sports.

Group of students from the Colorado State University College Club.

Inclusion Weekly: College Clubs

Special Olympics College Clubs are a great way to make college more inclusive.

A close up photo of Rashaan.

Rashaan’s Moment

Rashaan found his passion for basketball growing up after moving around in his childhood. It wasn’t until college where ...

U.S. Youth Ambassador Sydney working in her transition program.

Inclusion Weekly: Inclusive Workplace

In this episode, we follow U.S. Ambassador Sydney from Massachusetts in her transition from graduating high school to getting ...

Students Donzel and Alyson posing for a picture during Unified Physical Education class.

Inclusion Weekly: Unified Physical Education

U.S. Youth Ambassador Donzel from Illinois explains the benefits of Unified Physical Education. In collaboration with Edmodo, Special Olympics ...

Two soccer players working together to dribble the ball down the field.

Inclusion Weekly: Unified Sports

U.S. Youth Ambassador Sydney from Massachusetts shows the importance of Special Olympics Unified Sports through interviewing students at her ...

Jenni and Jason smiling at the camera.

Jenni’s Moment

Jenni’s younger brother Jason has Down syndrome. Growing up, Jason was one of the first students with Down syndrome ...

A youth leader points at a poster he's been working on.

Inclusion Weekly: Inclusive Youth Leadership

In collaboration with Edmodo, Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools has created a series of short videos that display our programming ...

A group of students from Pontiac High School in Illinois posing for a picture.

Inclusion Weekly: Whole School Engagement

In collaboration with Edmodo, Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools has created a series of short videos that display our programming ...

U.S. Youth Ambassador Tajha walks the halls of her high school with fellow students.

Inclusion Weekly: What is UCS?

In collaboration with Edmodo, Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools has created a series of short videos that display our programming ...

Claude and Catherine Dayas-Tokoto sitting in their home looking into each other's eyes.

Catherine and Claude’s Moment

Catherine and Claude Dayas-Tokoto emigrated from Cameroon to the United States to provide a better life for their children including ...

Deran, a high school athletic director from North Carolina looks off into the distance.

Deran’s Moment

When Deran was younger, he had a childhood friend named Jenny, who had intellectual disabilities. When Deran received the news ...

Noah and his best friend Conrad hanging out.

Noah’s Moment

Growing up Noah and his brother Sam, who has intellectual disabilities, had a very estranged relationship. The brotherly bond Noah ...

Riley a student from Ponaganset High School, dressed in spirit gear and smiling.

Ponaganset Senior Projects

At Ponaganset High School, each senior is expected to present on a topic that has significant meaning to them. In 2019, ...

Tajha, a US Youth Ambassador from Florida smiles for the camera while standing in front of a lake.

Tajha’s Moment

Tajha Ilerant from Immokalee HS in Florida lost both of her parents at a young age. With such tragedy in ...

Sidney and Britney a Unified pair from Hawaii smile for the camera.

Be The Change

Britney and Sidney from Special Olympics Hawaii attended the Youth Leadership Experience as part of the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games ...

Cody,a player on the Clovis North Unified soccer team posing for the camera.

Meet #33 – Cody

Cody is not just an awesome soccer player, he is an artist and a member of the Unified Generation. Clovis ...

Sydney, a player on the Clovis North Unified soccer team posing for the camera.

Meet #22 – Sydney

Sydney is one of the Captains of the Clovis North soccer team. Joining the team gave Sydney a sense of ...

Sean, a player on the Clovis North Unified soccer team posing for the camera.

Meet #25 – Sean

Sean always played sports growing up but he didn’t find his community until he joined the Clovis North Broncos. ...

Young man with his team reaching his hand up in the air in triumph.

Clovis Unified

This is the story of the Clovis North High School Unified Interscholastic Soccer team and their journey to the 2018 Special ...

Two students from Ponaganset High School congratualting each other during a Unified Sports game.

Ponaganset HS: A Case Study

Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island is a great representation of what it means to be a Special Olympics National ...

Noah from Mead High School smiling as he holds a sign that says

Mead HS: A Case Study

Mead High School is a Unified Champion School in Longmont, Colorado. The school has grown exponentially over the decade since ...

Special Olympics athlete Daina Shilts looking pensively into the distance.

Daina’s Powerful Story

Daina Shilts was bullied, teased and excluded when she was in school. Through Special Olympics, she found her love of ...

Students from Old Bridge Paige and Bella looking at each other smiling.

Live Unified: Inclusive Youth Leadership

Inclusive Youth Leadership is one of three components that make a Special Olympics Unified Champion School. Students with and without ...

Alamo Heights students Carrie and Dominic speaking at a podium.

Alamo Heights HS: A Case Study

Alamo Heights High School is a Unified Champion School located in San Antonio, Texas.  They show what meaningful inclusion is ...

Eddie Yarbrough smiling as he walks down the hallway of his high school.

Eddie Yarbrough: From Unified Champion Schools to the NFL

Eddie Yarbrough is a Defensive End for the Minnesota Vikings. He previously played for the Buffalo Bills. Before his professional ...

Play Unified: Unified Sports & Unified PE

Special Olympics Unified Sports® is one of three components that make up a Special Olympics Unified Champion School. This as ...

A group of students from Alamo Heights High School waving to the camera on a football field.

The Revolution is Inclusion

As spoken by students of Unified Champion Schools and members of the Unified Generation: “We are not just athletes. We ...

Brothers Isaac, Isaiah and Ivan Garcia are sitting on the Washington High School basketball court looking into the distance.

Washington HS: A Case Study

Washington High School is a Special Olympics Unified Champion School located in Phoenix, Arizona. Through Unified Sports and inclusive youth ...

Students sitting in the bleachers of an assembly as two students face them.

Learn Unified: Whole School Engagement

Whole School Engagement is one of three components of a Special Olympics Unified Champion School®. It’s when awareness and ...

Kate DeCotis and a classmate sitting on the bus. Kate is smiling at the camera.

There is Nothing Kate Can’t Do

Through Kate’s story, we see what meaningful inclusion looks like from an early age. She is fully embraced as ...

Loretta Claiborne smiling at the camera.

Loretta: Our Inspiration

When Loretta Claiborne was a young girl, she was isolated and worried about what her future would hold. As she ...

Two students about to high-five in a school gym.

Special Olympics Celebrates 50th Anniversary

In this video,  watch how Special Olympics has impacted different people throughout the movement. First, Loretta Claiborne talks about her ...

Evan and Jay Hallberg walking down the hallway of Ponaganset High School.

Evan & Jay: Brothers

Evan and Jay Hallberg are brothers that attended Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island. Through opportunities afforded by Special Olympics ...