With 711,000 Australians living with an intellectual disability and only 7,000 participants engaged in Special Olympics Australia we need your support to increase our reach and spread the joy that sport and community interaction achieves.
This Special Olympics Road Trip will help us do exactly that!
In an effort to raise awareness and educate people about Special Olympics Australia we are raising funds for an educational road trip to regional Victoria for several of our athletes. This exciting journey will see athletes visit Schools and Disability Service providers throughout regional and indigenous communities in Gippsland and give them an opportunity to share their stories, inspire others and play sport together.
Why are we doing this?
Did you know 1 in 5 people in Victoria live with a disability? In fact only 27% of people with a disability in Victoria participate in sport related physical activity (ABS, 2015) and that’s where Special Olympics can help! Special Olympics Australia provides sport and movement opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities and autism to help ensure that they are included, develop life skills and build confidence and Australia is better off as a result.
Our Special Olympics athletes have the power to inspire and encourage other Australians with disability to have the same confidence, courage and determination to living their life as they do. Being part of a sporting movement that 'chooses to include' is extremely powerful. If our athletes can influence others with an intellectual disability and autism to participate in sport, we will be able to enhance their physical and mental well-being. It will also give them a sense of purpose and help them make new friends and community connections.
By helping us give people with intellectual disabilities and autism the same opportunities as anyone else to play sport, together we can open the door to personal achievement, pride and inclusion for some of the most marginalised and isolated members of our community.
The benefits for our Road Trip athletes:
Our Special Olympics athletes will have an opportunity to learn about remote, indigenous and disabled rural communities throughout this trip. They will also engage in a unique personal development experience, which will help build their identity and confidence.
The benefits for the people our athletes will meet:
Our athletes can truly make a difference on this trip. Their stories will not only be able to inspire other people like them but will show them exactly what they can achieve.
The benefits to the communities we’ll visit:
This opportunity will allow us to educate and engage regional, remote and indigenous communities, sporting clubs, disability service providers and schools about Special Olympics Australia and our mission. Our aim is to grow membership through building awareness and access to resources.
We will join our friends from the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) on the Gippsland Regional Engagement & Awareness Tour (GREAT) - as they say, the more the merrier!
The LETR is a partnership between Special Olympics Victoria and Victoria Police to develop awareness, build support circles and engage in fundraising activities to assist people with intellectual disabilities to participate in sport. In regional towns and communities there is low participation in sport and recreation by children and adults with intellectual disabilities. We both have the same mission to develop awareness and grow membership on this road trip and we're excited to embark on this journey with LETR by our side.
Reaching our fundraising goal will allow us to hit the road prepared, organised and ready to make a difference!
A road trip like this will involve planning, preparation and training of our Special Olympics athletes. We will need to provide support to the athletes throughout the tour – many of our athletes will have never been on a trip like this, away from their families and everyday routines, so it’s important we make this trip as stress-free as possible for them. It’s also important we provide support to the extended team on the road trip (carers and educators) – they’ll need to help lead the athletes and manage the road trip.
Then there's the transportation factor! We plan to hire campervans and stay in camping grounds to give the athletes a true road trip experience! This will also enable us to cover lots of road and allow us to stop and meet people along the way.
Goal:
Our goal is to get our athletes on the road to Gippsland where they will be able to meet people from regional communities and share their stories and experiences. We plan to visit Warrugal, Korumburra, Leongatha, Moe, Traralgon, Sale, Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, and Trafalgar. At all stops there will be opportunities to play together in our 'Come and Try' sports events, participate in LETR torch runs and engage with local community members. We want to build opportunities for local people with disability to be involved in ongoing sport and physical activity.
Stretch goal:
Even though we’d be thrilled to get our athletes to Gippsland, we’d be absolutely ecstatic to get them to the Outback! This is a more ambitious trip travelling to the Northern Territory where we’d be able to spread awareness about Special Olympics by engaging with indigenous and remote communities where the need is greater.
Help us take action
Please help us make this GREAT Road Trip a reality!
You can make your pledge by simply clicking one of the options on the right.
Please share our dream and this page with family and friends.
More about Special Olympics
Special Olympics has grown from a backyard camp into a global movement that has been transforming the lives of people with an intellectual disability for almost 50 years. Today, Special Olympics support over 5 million athletes in 177 countries.
It began in Australia in 1976 with the mission to provide people with an intellectual disability the opportunity to play sport and open the door to personal achievement, pride and inclusion for participants, their carers and families. Through regular sports programs and competitions, Special Olympics brings joy, pride, fun and friendship to its athletes,carers and families while at the same time improving their health and life outcomes.
Sadly, in the 1970s many people with an intellectual disability were shut out in institutions and while this is no longer the norm in Australia, we must continue to seek public support to ensure that people with an intellectual disability are never shut out. Special Olympics Australia is a strong advocate for seeking inclusion in sport, employment and human rights for people with an intellectual disability.
Other important information:
Donations over $2 raised for Special Olympics Australia are tax deductible, please email us [email protected] if you'd like to receive a receipt.