THE MISSION
The mission of Special Olympics of Delaware County (SODC) is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults 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.
ABOUT US
Special Olympics began in the early 1960’s, Ohio’s involvement began in the late 1960’s and SODC became involved in 1970’s. In the beginning SODC offered 3 sports. They were basketball, bowling and track-n-field. There were approximately 20 athletes in the organization at that time. We now service over 130 athletes and are continuing to grow. The sports offered have expanded to include swimming, soccer, cheer leading, bocce ball, power lifting, gymnastics, golf and volleyball plus the three original sports we started with. We attend many meets including the Ohio State Summer Games at Ohio State University. A Board of Trustees was formed on July 26, 2005 to oversee SODC. There are 7 Board members which are comprised of family members and community supporters. On October 17, 2005 Sharon Taylor was hired as Local Coordinator of the organization. Our athletes are trained by experienced coaches and volunteers who give their offer their time to train our athletes, so that they can compete to the best of their ability.
FUNDING
There is no participation fee for Special Olympics. Special Olympics of Delaware County covers the cost of uniforms, team equipment, and other expenses associated with training our athletes. As a non-profit organization, various fundraisers are used to generate the funds that enable us to pay for these expenses. Throughout the year, families and local volunteers have many opportunities to volunteer at our Special Friends Walk, Dollar Night and other various fundraising events.