Special Olympics GB is delighted to have been selected as the
official charity partner of the British 10k. We are working harder
than ever to use the power of sport to positively transform the
lives of children and adults with learning disabilities in the
Olympic year and way beyond.
Special Olympics Great Britain is part of the Olympic family, but
we are different in that we provide year-round sports training and
competition opportunities for children and adults with learning
disabilities (IQ 75 or below) of all abilities and ages, rather
than a single event for elite (professional) athletes.
For every one of the 25,000 runners taking part in the British 10k
next year, there are 48 children and adults with a learning
disability.
Special Olympics GB helps 8,000 children and adults with learning
disabilities and their families week in week out through our
volunteer-led network of clubs and a competition and sports
programme across Great Britain, but there are tens of thousands
more who need our help.
Our charity is important in the lives of thousands of people with
learning disabilities and their families across Great
Britain. We have proven that sport can transform the lives of
people with learning disabilities, helping them to develop the
skills and confidence and overcome the barriers and discrimination
that they face everyday life.
Please join our 2012 Team and help us to raise funds
to transform the lives of many more people with learning
disabilities through sport, helping them to make friends (often for
the first time) and develop the skills and confidence they need to
overcome the barriers and exclusion they face daily in life.
Did you know?
- There are currently 1.2 million adults and children in the UK
with learning disabilities and more than 200 babies with these
disabilities are born every week
- Learning disability is the most common disability in the
UK
- A person with a learning disability has an IQ of 75 or below
and the most common example is Down's Syndrome
- Children with learning disabilities are social excluded and 8
out of 10 are bullied
- 1 in 2 families with a learning disabled child live in
poverty
- There are 8,000 people with learning disability who currently
benefit from the Special Olympics Sports programme
- Special Olympics GB has over 130 sports clubs run by over 2,800
volunteers
- We offer a wide range of Olympic-type sports from athletics
cycling and judo to table tennis, football and alpine skiing
- Although we are all independent registered charities, there are
Special Olympics programmes in more than 200 countries throughout
the world
- We have a series of local, regional, national and international
competitions, the pinnacle of which is our World Summer Games, held
every 4 years
- Through our work on the sports field, our wider aim is to
achieve inclusion for disabled people
Money you help raise for us will help us to:
- Increase the number of children and adults with learning
disabilities we are able to help from 8000 to 20000 by the end of
2013
- Set up new Special Olympics clubs and develop more
relationships with mainstream sports organisations so that they
become inclusive for all (mainstream clubs tell us they are often
afraid and don't know how to "deal" with people with learning
disabilities)
- Help us work in partnership with schools to promote inclusion
for disabled children, as well as reach out to more children with
learning disabilities through sport
- Enhance the quality of coaching for Special Olympics athletes
and provide further training for our volunteer coaches
- Raise the public profile of Special Olympics and our life
changing work and the abilities (not the disabilities) of people
with learning disabilities (and so more people with learning
disabilities and their families are aware of the support we
offer)
- Empower people with learning disabilities by providing further
skills such as leadership training to support them in everyday
life.
For more information please visit www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk
To opt in to support Special Olympics GB when signing up
as a runner, please click here.
For more information on taking one of our individual charity
places please contact:
Clarisse.lang@sogb.org.uk or 0207 247 8891 (Ext
208)
If you are interested in joining us as a corporate team please
contact:
Saul.annett@sogb.org.uk or 07971 881 418
