[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2551-H2552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER OF THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
an organization near and dear to my heart, Special Olympics.
  In April, I attended the Paterno Family Beaver Stadium Run in State 
College, Centre County. The 5K run/walk raises money for the 
Pennsylvania chapter of the Special Olympics organization.
  I fueled up at a pre-race breakfast and kicked off the opening 
ceremonies before cheering on the participants and meeting with the 
Centre County Special Olympics chapter.
  Mr. Speaker, Special Olympics is a global organization that unleashes 
the human spirit and human potential through the transformative power 
and joy of sport every day around the world.
  Through programming in sports, health, education, and community 
building, they change the lives of people with intellectual 
disabilities.
  Special Olympics began in 1962 as a day camp in the back yard of 
Eunice and Sargent Shriver with the first international games taking 
place in 1968. Today, the movement thrives in more than 172 countries 
throughout the world.
  Pennsylvania formed their own State chapter in May of 1970 when 135 
brave athletes participated in a small track and field competition at 
West Chester University.
  Today, our State chapter has nearly 13,000 athletes competing across 
nine local regions in more than 300 annual competitions in 22 different 
Olympic-type sports.
  Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic 
competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults 
with intellectual disabilities, providing continuing opportunities to 
develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and 
participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendships with their 
families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
  Mr. Speaker, the Special Olympics program is more than an athletic 
competition. The program, when offered in schools known as Unified 
Champion Schools, reduces bullying, teasing, and the use of offensive 
language to those with intellectual disabilities.
  Graduation rates of high schools that implemented USC increased 1.1 
percent for students without disabilities and increased 1.4 percent for 
students living with disabilities.

  The work Special Olympics is doing results in an average of four and 
a half more inclusive experiences for each student who participates.
  In Pennsylvania alone, there are more than 720 USC partnered schools 
in more than 50 counties. In fact, at St. Mary's Area High School in 
Elk County, Pennsylvania, PA-15, the Flying Dutchmen unified sports 
teams completed an undefeated inaugural season and became the 2023 
Interscholastic Unified Bocce PIAA State champs at the Giant Center in 
Hershey, Pennsylvania.
  The unified program truly changes lives. One of the families 
participating summed up the program best in saying, ``Unified sports 
really does unify a school, a community, and most of all, gives 
families like myself a lot of joy and for a moment to forget about a 
diagnosis.''
  Special Olympics also focuses on the long-term health of their 
athletes. People with intellectual disabilities lack equitable access 
to health services and die, on average, 20 years earlier than the 
general population in the United States.
  Special Olympics creates a healthier world for individuals with 
intellectual disabilities through initiatives that reduce health 
disparities and instead, works toward equitable access to quality 
health service for people living with intellectual disabilities.
  To date, Special Olympics Health has provided more than 1 million 
health screenings to Special Olympic athletes to identify unmet health 
needs, refer them to appropriate care, and allow

[[Page H2552]]

them to succeed on the field and in their communities.
  In fact, from 2011-2012, Special Olympics of Pennsylvania conducted 
more than 9,000 screenings. For some, these screenings are the first 
time they have seen a doctor.
  The programs build on the success of the PATH program to further 
improve the health status and increase access to community health 
resources.
  Mr. Speaker, Special Olympics and the Special Olympics Pennsylvania 
chapter wouldn't be possible without community volunteers.
  The PA chapter has more than 30,000 coaches and volunteers assisting 
athletes during all levels of competition.
  This program touches countless people in numerous ways, and its 
impact reaches far beyond the sphere of sports.
  It was a privilege to work with the State College chapter, and I am 
proud to share the 2023 Paterno Family Beaver Stadium Run was the most 
successful run ever, that day raising more than $448,000 for Special 
Olympics of Pennsylvania athletes.

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