Friend,

Here is a number worth sitting with: students with disabilities are bullied at twice the rate of their peers. 

But here’s a different number. This fall, millions of athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) will walk into gyms and onto fields across the country, and every single one of them will feel welcomed.

That sense of belonging doesn’t happen by accident. It takes coaches, volunteers, and a whole lot of people who show up, including you. 

The most damaging thing about bullying is what it teaches:

🛑 Stop raising your hand. 
🛑 Stop joining things. 
🛑 Learn to go unnoticed.

Those lessons can linger long after bullying ends. At Special Olympics, athletes learn different lessons.

Our athletes practice all season. Then that confidence travels with them into classrooms, jobs, friendships, and rooms they once avoided. 

“Twice as likely” does not have to remain true. Those odds begin to change when people train together, compete together, and cheer for one another. 

Thank you for making room.

Team Special Olympics