Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died today at age 88. The Special Olympics, today an organization that includes more than 2.5 million participants in 150 countries, began in 1961 as a summer day camp for children with intellectual disabilities at Shriver’s family farm in Maryland. Special Olympics held its first official event in 1968 in Chicago.
Shriver’s legacy in the area of advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities includes her creation of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, both created during her brother John F. Kennedy’s presidency. The federal funds attached to these endeavors resulted in significant research and educational programming in the field.
President Obama released a statement saying Shriver was “an extraordinary woman who, as much as anyone, taught our nation -- and our world -- that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit."
For a tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, please visit: http://www.specialolympics.org/ or
http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/
"It is my deepest hope that the world can begin to look at our friends with special needs and, for once, tell them, 'Yes, you do belong; yes, you are wonderful; yes, you can be a shining light of hope for the world!"— Eunice Kennedy Shriver
SOURCES:
“Remembering Eunice Shriver: Life and Times, Special Olympics” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/08/11/DI2009081101008.html
“Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics founder and sister of JFK, dies at 88”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-eunice-kennedy-shriver12-2009aug12,0,4627914.story
Shriver’s legacy in the area of advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities includes her creation of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, both created during her brother John F. Kennedy’s presidency. The federal funds attached to these endeavors resulted in significant research and educational programming in the field.
President Obama released a statement saying Shriver was “an extraordinary woman who, as much as anyone, taught our nation -- and our world -- that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit."
For a tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, please visit: http://www.specialolympics.org/ or
http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/
"It is my deepest hope that the world can begin to look at our friends with special needs and, for once, tell them, 'Yes, you do belong; yes, you are wonderful; yes, you can be a shining light of hope for the world!"— Eunice Kennedy Shriver
SOURCES:
“Remembering Eunice Shriver: Life and Times, Special Olympics” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/08/11/DI2009081101008.html
“Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics founder and sister of JFK, dies at 88”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-eunice-kennedy-shriver12-2009aug12,0,4627914.story
