Be a fan of Special Olympics! Join TD Bank in raising $1,200,000 to support Special Olympics athletes. Here’s how you can help. From May 13 – June 30: Make a donation at one of our teller counters Bring your loose change to our Penny Arcade coin counting machines* *Penny Arcade fee will be waivedRead More
It is with great sadness that we are writing this post. Scott Moffitt of Bennington recently passed away unexpectedly. Scott loved Special Olympics and played basketball, soccer, track and field, bowling, aquatics and snowshoeing. Scott was a wonderful teammate and role model. One of his coaches said, “Scott was a great guy and the epitome ofRead More
It’s time again to kick off this year’s P&GbrandSAVER® and Thank you, Mom program! Keep an eye out for your P&GbrandSAVER® coupon books in your local newspaper on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12, 2013. This promotion is based on coupon redemption: Special Olympics will receive 2 cents for every coupon used and you must presentRead More
This morning we had the pleasure of being invited to Willis Captive Practice in Burlington. They presented Special Olympics Vermont with a $1,500 check from The Willis Foundation in support of our 1,071 athletes. Willis and its employees participated in the Burlington Penguin Plunge this year. Through their 15 plungers, they raised a total ofRead More
We are thrilled to be associated with the great folks at Run Vermont. We are an official Miles for a Mission partner for the 2013 KeyBank Vermont City Marathon. We have eight relay teams who are raising funds and awareness by competing in this world class event that happens each May right in our backyard.Read More
Special Olympics Vermont is thrilled to announce the 2012 annual award winners. The announcement and award presentation took place on Saturday, March 9th at The Woodstock Inn and Resort as part of the Winter Games competition. Congratulations to all of the award recipients and thank you to everyone who sent in nominations. Female Athlete ofRead More
Special Olympics Vermont is pleased to welcome two professionals to the team in South Burlington. Kelly Wilkins of Barre joined the organization as the Athletes and Families Coordinator and Chris Langevin of Highgate Springs is the new Sports Manager. Chris is a 2010 Graduate of Springfield College with a degree in Sports Management. He hasRead More
Special Olympics Vermont invites you to Enter the R-WORD t-shirt design contest! Design the official Spread the Word to End the Word RETARD t-shirt Winner gets a $150 Best Buy gift card, plus $500 for their school’s Project Unify program! Deadline for submission is midnight on January 31, 2013 Contest Guidelines All Vermont elementary, middleRead More
Hello from Special Olympics Vermont! Thank you for all of your support in 2012. We are set to record the largest number of athletes participating, coupled with more training and personal development opportunities than ever before. Our work involves so many resources and we are thankful to have the support of thousands of Vermonters. OverRead More
Josh Beaupre, Leah Boardman and Larry Strobridge along with coaches Missie Rodriguez and Mike White, who were selected to be part of Special Olympics Team USA at the 2013 World Winter Games in the Republic of Korea were in Lake Placid, NY last week for training camp. WCAX was there to cover the action andRead More
Yarn: Your choice; washable preferred Color – Black, white, grey (any or all combinations of those three colors) Pattern, needles: Your choice Suggested size: 6” wide x 5’ long Deadline: February 22, 2013 Please deliver or mail completed scarves to: Special Olympics Vermont 16 Gregory Drive, Suite 2, South Burlington, VT 05403 Questions? Contact PattyRead More
For those of you not familiar with the incident, Ann Coulter recently published a highly offensive tweet following the most recent presidential debate. Rather than responding directly to Ms. Coulter, we are simply sharing a guest blog post from Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens. John’s words say more than we everRead More
We are thrilled to welcome Liza Reed to SOVT. Liza joined us on October 1st as the Special Events Manager (aka Head Penguin Wrangler). Prior to joining SOVT Liza had been the Development Manager for Vermont Youth Orchestra Association since 2008. Liza joins Special Olympics Vermont after nearly four years with the Vermont Youth OrchestraRead More
In late September, 17 athletes, partners and coaches loaded a plane in Albany bound for Oklahoma City to compete in the 2012 Special Olympics National Softball Invitational. The competition included 30 teams from the US along with teams from Canada, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. The Vermont Catamounts, as they call themselves, played teams fromRead More
John “Johnboy” Wagner has been participating in the Burlington Penguin Plunge for over 10 years and usually takes the icy dip with the sponsor team from Merchants Bank, the ChillyLynx. Being a veteran to the icy waters, John had a few words of advice for first timers: Always wear shoes. Don’t think about it. TheRead More
Last year we asked, “Are you brave enough?”. Over 1,500 participants responded “We’ve got 32 degrees of courage!” and took the plunge into icy Vermont waters in January and February. This year we welcome you to join us in celebrating the 2013 Penguin Plunge series to support our 1,054 athletes. Be an “early bird” andRead More
Joshua Beaupre has been a Special Olympics Vermont athlete for more than eight years. In 2013, he will put all of those training days to good use as he will be representing Team USA (and Vermont) at the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea. Joshua has already started an extensive dry-land trainingRead More
WILLISTON, VT – In true Olympic spirit, Vermonters went for the gold and raised $12,000 for local athletes with intellectual disabilities. Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel held a month-long Olympic donation event, and the store and its customers collectively raised $12,000 for Special Olympics Vermont. Lenny’s co-owner Mark McCarthy presented that donation to Jeff LaBonte, BoardRead More
On Friday July 13th we held our 7th annual Board of Directors Golf Tournament at the Links at Lang Farm in Essex Junction. We had 96 golfers enjoy the beautiful weather and course. In all, the event raised nearly $15,000 for the 1,054 athletes of Special Olympics Vermont. Special thanks to our sponsors, golfers, athletesRead More
In true Olympic spirit, Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel, Vermont’s favorite locally owned retailer of quality outdoor gear, is sponsoring an in-store donation event to support Special Olympics Vermont. Customers are encouraged to donate with in-store saving incentives. Lenny’s will also make a contribution every time Team USA wins a medal during the 2012 Olympic Games.Read More
The Bennington Police Department once again joined Special Olympics Vermont to run the Flame of Hope torch from Bennington into Shaftsbury, VT where it was passed onto the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department and the Vermont State Police on Wednesday, May 30th, 2012. Bennington Police Officers have run the Flame of Hope for over twenty years. Read More
Special Olympics Vermont has selected three athletes to represent Vermont as members of Team USA at the 2013 Winter World Games in PyeongChang, South Korea in January. In addition to the three athletes, Vermont will also have two coaches and one management team representative. Below you will find each of the names along with theirRead More
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in April, a dedicated group of student athletes from the University of Vermont hosted their second annual Catamount Country Talent Show. The group of students are members of the Student Athlete Advisory Council. In 2011 the group wanted to start an event to give back to their community. They thought,Read More
TD Bank, TD Insurance and TD Ameritrade have partnered with Special Olympics to raise $1,200,000 through employee-focused initiatives. Special Olympics Vermont is thrilled to be part of the “Be a Fan” campaign, now in it’s 4th year. When you visit your local TD Bank, please consider making a donation to support our 1,054 athletes inRead More
On June 1st -3rd, more than 700 Special Olympics Vermont athletes and partners will be competing at our largest annual competition, Summer Games at the University of Vermont. We need more than 300 volunteers to make the Summer Games a success. Please visit this form if you are interested in helping us. There you willRead More
Here is an article that was shared with us from one of our schools programs in Rutland. It really captures the heart of our work. Published: April 4, 2012 I would like to take this opportunity to recognize a special Rutland High School athletic team that many people do not know about, the Rutland HighRead More
On Saturday, March 10th at The Woodstock Inn and Resort more than 350 athletes, volunteers, staff and supporters attended our Annual Awards Banquet. Those listed below were presented with a summit award courtesy of Simon Pearce and formally recognized. Congratulations to all! Program of the Year – Rutland Eagles Unified Sports Program of the YearRead More
For the past three years I have carved out a weekend from my busy work (and social) schedule in order to head to Woodstock, VT where I volunteer for the Special Olympics Winter Games. My initial reasoning was to support a good friend who works for Special Olympics. By the end of the day’s events,Read More
On January 28th 105 participants plunged into Lake Paran in North Bennington to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics Vermont. While the air temperature was an unseasonable 41 degrees, there was a thick layer of ice that was removed to open up the water for the Plungers. This was the largest N. Bennington PenguinRead More
The 2012 Special Olympics Vermont Winter Games on March 9 – 11th at Suicide Six will have athletes going the extra distance to try and earn one of three spots for the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea. The Special Olympics World Winter Games will be held January 26 – February 6,Read More
Spread the Word to End the Word is an on-going effort to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word. The campaign is intended to get schools, communities and organizations to rally and pledge their support. Join thousandsRead More