Meeting the Moment

In this episode hear from Meeting the Moment Season 2 sponsor MiABLE and a plan holder on the benefits of creating a savings account for those with disabilities.

Learn more about MiABLE here.

In this episode, meet Dr. Jen Smart, an advocate and audiologist. How she's changing the game, helping athletes access free health screenings and empowering them with the tools they need.

In 1997, Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® began offering free health screenings and education to Special Olympics athletes in a welcoming, fun environment. Since then, we have delivered over 2 million free health screenings and trained close to 300,000 health professionals and students to treat people with intellectual disabilities.

Healthy Athletes offers screenings in nine disciplines:

In this episode, we explore the concept of Cultural Competency. What it is, how to have honest conversations, and the importance of authenticity.

Resources:

Meet Austin - a SOMI AmeriCorps member - who has committed his life to leading through service. In this episode, listen to how the program has changed his life and molded his future, despite a vision impairment and taking on a new endeavor.

Resources:

Learn more or apply for the SOMI AmeriCorps program here.

Is your child ages 2-7 (with or without an intellectual disability) Get involved in the SOMI Young Athletes program!

In this episode, meet Rich Coleman, a lifelong public servant committed to improving his community. Rich, a CMU alum, attended the first-ever Special Olympics Michigan Summer Games on the campus of Central Michigan University in 1974. He explains how that moment started it all...

Meet the Baker family, social media stars who started sharing their life with the public at the start of the pandemic through "Baker Banter." Derek, a Special Olympics Missouri athlete, has always wanted to be in the spotlight - and now is! But, making the leap wasn't easy, and they have encountered many haters along the way.

Follow BakerBanter:

In this episode meet Gabe, a Western Michigan University student, and Max, a Special Olympics Michigan athlete. Together, the two are working to build Unified Sports Programming in Kalamazoo at the college level. We explain why the program is thriving... as a result of initial failure.

To learn more on SO College: https://www.somi.org/program/so-college

Nori Barnes, Special Olympics Illinois athlete and human trafficking survivor shares an emotional and inspiring story of her road to freedom following years of physical and emotional abuse that started from an early age. She explains how Special Olympics has helped reshape her life and learn that it is OK to fail.

Follow Nori on Social Media:

Michigan Department of Corrections Manager, Lisa Hendricks, speaks on growing up with two sisters with intellectual disabilities. While she was exposed and had a love for Special Olympics Michigan at an early age, it was grieving the death of a sister and a week-long ride in an RV with the Michigan Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) that healed her soul. Hear how her mission in life is to leave behind a legacy beyond her 9 to 5, and hopes others will do the same.

Michigan Law Enforcement Torch Run

The Law Enforcement Torch Run® is the single largest grassroots fundraising effort for Special Olympics International. The two main goals of the Law Enforcement Torch Run® are to raise funds and create awareness for the athletes who participate in Special Olympics Michigan.

https://www.somi.org/letr

Live Boldly. Love Big. Pass it on. How a family turned loss into love.

The Red Glasses Movement was started in honor of Audrey Jandernoa, who passed away at just 5 years old. Audrey was a remarkable little lady born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. These were not the things that defined her. Audrey was defined by her Red Glasses, contagious smile, her curious mind, and giant, loving heart. If you knew Audrey, then you were most likely crushed by one of her giant hugs or watched her run with a purpose to find the next great adventure. Audrey came across many obstacles in life whether medically or cognitively. She overcame them all with hard work and a smile on her face and even more love to give and share.

Red Glasses Movement: https://redglassesmovement.org/