Aiming High

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Free throws will abound when high schools and junior high schools across the United States team up to cMake the Point d for Special Olympics on 25 October 2003. Special Olympics and The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) are joining forces for one of the biggest national fundraising events ever created to support Special Olympics. The event will also pump up excitement and awareness of the movement.

Students participating in cMake the Point d will solicit pledges from family and friends for the number of basketball free throws they attempt. An added bonus is that the schools will keep 10 percent of all revenue raised by the students. The success of cMake the Point d hinges on the cooperation and support of athletic directors and school principals across the nation to drive this event and sign up students to participate.

As part of the cMake the Point d event, a variety of collateral materials will be available to participating schools, including how-to instructions, banners, posters, participation certiEcates and T-shirts. s Arlene Whittick is the Communications Manager for Special Olympics North America. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, was honored by former U.S.

President George Bush in a ceremony unveiling ... more. less.

a 3-1/2 foot bronze medallion of her likeness. The medallion, along with those of 70 other honorees, will be placed on THE EXTRA MILE-National Volunteer Pathway near the White House in Washington, D.C., USA. THE EXTRA MILE-National Volunteer Pathway, an initiative of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, is a national monument that honors volunteers who have shaped America and the world by going the extra mile for others. CELEBRITIES & FUNDRAISING For more than a decade,world-renowned photographer Richard Corman has been donating his services to Special Olympics, his work gracing the pages of many Special Olympics publications,featuring among others,Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nelson Mandela.In fact,Corman has shot thousands of images of Special Olympics athletes,his photographs as distinct as the athletes are courageous.And for the first time,Corman has dedicated an entire photography book to Special Olympics,titled I Am Proud . One hundred and seventy-six pages long, I Am Proud captures the essence of what the movement is all about. I Am Proud consists of a selection of Corman 9s best photographs culled from the five continents he 9s been to shooting indelible images of Special Olympics athletes.The book is available at Barnes & Noble and www.barnesandnoble.com. by Scott Deckman YOUOUGHTABEINPICTURES Richard Corman 9s collected Special Olympics pictures tell a tale all their own by Arlene Whittick Aiming High Students support their schools and cMake the Point d for Special Olympics athletes On 20 November 2002,Special Olympics Italy launched its cAdopt a Champion d campaign to raise funds for its 2003 World Games delegation at the Italy versus Turkey football match in Pescara.At the start of the match, both professional teams wore T-shirts with the Special Olympics logo and a photo of Argentine-born Valeria Mazza,one of Italy 9s top models and the spokesperson for the campaign,with Special Olympics athlete Riccardo Tatangelo.The match was broadcast on RAI,Italy 9s national television,and viewers were estimated at 3 million.The Italian football players association (Associazone Italiana Calciatori 4AIC) posted an article about the event on its official Web site. A Perfect Match Italy 9s cAdopt a Champion d campaign Honored Footsteps Former U.S. President Bush hails Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver The new book I Am Proud . www.specialolympics.org SPIRIT 25 PHOTO COURTESY OF SOARING UNDERFOOT PHOTO COURTESY OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS EUROPE/EURASIA 26 SPIRIT www.specialolympics.org CELEBRITIES & FUNDRAISING PROFOUNDLY NORMAL Life of Special Olympics athlete Ricardo Thornton and wife Donna portrayed in a made-for-television movie by Nathalie Cook Royal Welcome The Queen 9s Jubilee visit to Toronto For Special Olympics Ecuador, Christmas cards not only express the joys of the season,they also raise money to support Special Olympics athletes.Since 2001,Special Olympics Ecuador and Yanbal,a South American cosmetic conglomerate that sells prod- ucts door-to-door through salespeople (promoters),have been partners in a cause-related campaign that has increased the company 9s sales and raised more than US$150,000 for Special Olympics Ecuador through the sales of nearly 700,000 Christmas cards.The 2002 Christmas cards consisted of 24 designs created by Special Olympics athletes. Each card contained a message of love, peace and hope for a better future for people with mental retardation. Martha Arango is Special Olympics Latin America Public Relations Manager. GLAD TIDINGS Special Olympics Ecuador and Yanbal team up The lives of Special Olympics District of Columbia (USA) athlete Ricardo Thornton and his wife Donna were the subject of a new made-for-television movie on the CBS Television Network. Profoundly Normal ,starring multiple Emmy Award-winner Kirstie Alley ( Cheers , Veronica 9sCloset ) and Delroy Lindo ( The Cider House Rules ),was broadcast as the cCBS Sunday Movie d on 9 February.Based on the true story of the Thorntons, this story tells how these two individuals with mental retardation overcame extraordinary circumstances to forge a life together as husband and wife,as well as parents. CBS and Special Olympics celebrated the movie by holding a premiere screening on 4 February 2003 with 200 guests at the Martin Luther King,Jr.Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.(USA).The setting was particularly meaning- ful as Ricardo Thornton has been employed by the library for 25 years. cThey [the Thorntons] have endured such suffering, dsaid Alley. cThey dve endured so much and yet they 9ve come through it all with such strong spirits and such hope.I fell in love with both of them.I fell in love with Donna 9s love of life and her tenacity and perseverance.She 9s my hero. d Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh joined more than 7,000 participants, including Special Olympics Ontario athletes,for the Festival of Ontario,which took place at the National Trade Centre in Toronto in honor of her Majesty The Queen 9s Golden Jubilee.During the festivities Her Majesty stopped to greet and accept a bouquet of Howers from Special Olympics athletes Colleen Hunt and Levon Poladian. Nathalie Cook is the Director of Sponsorship for Special Olympics Canada. Stars Kirstie Alley (left) and Delroy Lindo (right) with Ricardo and Donna Thornton at a premiere screening of Profoundly Normal hosted by CBS and Special Olympics in Washington D.C. by Martha Arango The weather couldn 9t have been better for the lovely Iftar Gala (the breakfast meal during the month of Ramadan) organized by Special Olympics Egypt and hosted by the British Ambassador John Sawers and his wife, Shelly, at their Garden City residence in Cairo on 2 December 2002. More than 500 guests, including 65 Special Olympics Egypt athletes attended the gala held in honor of the Holy Month of Ramadan, including Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Maher and his wife Hoda, and a number of senior ofEcials and diplomats working in Cairo. Many CEOs of major corporations and individual businessmen contributed to the success of the event which raised EGP1,000,000 (approximately US$218,000) for Egyptian athletes who will compete in the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland. The Iftar was catered by the Cairo Marriott Hotel, one of the sponsors of the event. Other sponsors were GlaxoSmithKline, Apache Egypt Companies, ExxonMobil, Oriental Weavers, British Petroleum, Americana, Ernst & Young, Lovely, Commercial International Bank, Telecom Egypt, Misr Language Schools, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, Egyptian American Bank, Mercedes Benz, Cairo Barclays, Mansour Group, Al Ahram Beverages, Nile On Line, Bavaria and Sawiris Foundation for Social Development. Mohamed El Shahat is the Sports Editor of Al Akhbar Newspaper, a leading daily newspaper in Egypt. IFTAR GALA IN EGYPT H.E. Ahmed Maher, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs (left) with coach Amr Mohy, Special Olympics athletes Moustafa A. Hamid (left) and Moustafa Galal. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA JEFFREY R. STAAB/CBS ©2003 PHOTO COURTESY OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS CANADA by Mohamed El Shahat

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