Smiles and Screenings at Summer Games

This past Saturday, Special Olympics Vermont was proud to offer three Healthy Athletes® disciplines to our athletes: Special Smiles®, Healthy Hearing®, and Health Promotion®. Across these programs, our dedicated volunteers conducted an incredible 231 health screenings, helping athletes gain access to important health services and education that can have a lasting impact on their well-being.

Healthy Athletes is about much more than screenings. It helps identify unmet health needs, provides preventative care and health education, and works to address the health disparities often experienced by individuals with intellectual disabilities. By bringing these services directly to our athletes, we are helping build a future where inclusive health is the standard—not the exception.

These opportunities would not be possible without the generosity and expertise of our volunteers. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the teams from Vermont State Dental Hygiene, Vermont State Dental Society, Northeast Delta Dental, students from the University at Buffalo, Center for Technology Essex Dental Assisting, and UVM Larner College of Medicine for donating their time and talents to make these screenings a success.

Together, we are doing more than promoting healthy habits—we are creating pathways to better health outcomes, increasing access to care, and ensuring that every athlete has the opportunity to thrive both on and off the field.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this meaningful day possible. The future of inclusive health is brighter because of you.