image taken from NYTimes.com
Words from our President:
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Founder and Honorary Chairman of Special Olympics, passed away early this morning at Cape Cod Hospital (Massachusetts), surrounded by her family.
Mrs. Shriver forever altered the course of mankind by leading a human rights movement to bring dignity, respect, opportunity and hope to people with intellectual disabilities, throughout the world.
And the gift was that she invited all of us to come stand with her, on the right side of history.
In fact, Mrs. Shriver’s greatest legacy may be this: that she made it possible for each of us to feel our own power to be the difference, to be the change, to be the ambassadors for acceptance and inclusion. She once said, “Special Olympics belongs to the future not the past.” To honor her, we will work toward that future.
We encourage you to visit the tribute site that was established in her honor, www.eunicekennedyshriver.org. On the site, you can post your own tribute to Mrs. Shriver and share your condolences and sentiments regarding the impact of her life and work.
Mrs. Shriver believed that there was always more to be done. Your continued support of Special Olympics will honor her life and continue her legacy.
Thank you and we ask that you will keep Mrs. Shriver’s family in your thoughts and prayers.
- Rick Jeffrey, President, Special Olympics Virginia
From the SOVA website:
“Thanks Mrs. Shriver”
By Athlete and Global Messenger, Frank Stephens of Fairfax, VAThere is a very large hole in the world today. It is the size of one person, but it will take an awful lot of people to fill it back up again. The space that Eunice Kennedy Shriver filled in the world was just a lot bigger than most people. Her heart alone seemed to be limitless. There was always room there for one more of us.
You see, I am a man with Down Syndrome and my life is worth living because Mrs. Shriver lived hers the way she did. Forty-one years ago Mrs. Shriver started asking “why not” about the lives of people like me, and nothing has been the same since. Special Olympics, which began as an outing for a few individuals in the Shrivers’ backyard, now has participants all over the world. Because of Mrs. Shriver, people like me have a place to compete, a place to be brave, a place to win with joy, and a place to lose with grace.
But the miracle that Mrs. Shriver has made is not really what happens on the field of play, but rather what has happened in the hearts and minds of the millions of people who have coached, volunteered, and cheered at our games. Because so many people have come in close contact with us through participation in Special Olympics, we are no longer automatically excluded from society.
None of us need fear the welcome that Mrs. Shriver will receive as her spirit moves on. There are tens of thousands of special angels who have gone before her who are just waiting for the chance to cheer for her at the end of her race as she has cheered so many of ours. For us left behind, there are no words to say “Thank you” enough, so on behalf of all of us athletes, I would just like to repeat what we told her a year ago at one of those special gatherings in the Shrivers’ backyard, “Rock on, Mrs. Shriver, rock on.” I can still see her smile and hear her laugh.
Thanks, Mrs. Shriver, you took the one lifetime you were given and gave meaning to millions of lives. If there is an awards ceremony for life, you win the gold medal.