SPECIAL OLYMPICS BOONE COUNTY RECEIVES $8,800 GRANT FROM WOMEN OF IMPACT
Special Olympics Boone County provides heart-warming and life-changing opportunities to anyone with an intellectual disability. We are very fortunate to have such an active group of volunteers running this organization right here in our community, supporting over 100 registered athletes currently! During the third quarter Women of Impact meeting, Terri Noffke, County Coordinator for Special Olympics Boone County (SOBC), shared the joy this organization brings to these athletes’ lives, along with the organizational needs and goals for the near future. The members of the Women of Impact (WoI) philanthropic giving group brought their passion to support local nonprofits together and voted Special Olympics Boone County as their 2019 third quarter grantee.
Terri recently met with WoI members, CFBC staff, and SOBC athletes to receive the $8,800 grant. “You don’t even know how much this means to us. Allowing us to further the experiences for our athletes is so wonderful”, she said. “As with every nonprofit organization, there are obstacles to overcome. This grant will help us in so many ways.” They plan to use the grant for multiple things: build nutritional education and exercise training into their fitness club, add golf and flag football to the sport options, participate in Winter Games, and purchase new uniforms for basketball and softball.
SOBC offers 10 sporting opportunities, all at no cost to the athletes: basketball, track & field, cycling, swimming, corn toss, softball, tennis, equestrian, cross country, and bowling. The most popular sport with SOBC athletes is bowling. Athletes get to bowl three games a week and participate in tournaments around the state. This season, they expect to have 85 bowlers. The newest addition to their organization is swimming, which is now offered through group memberships at the Witham Family YMCA. Even though it is newer, they already sent five swimmers to compete at the Summer Games this past June. The athletes never pay a fee to participate in any of the sports. No registration fee, no uniform fee, no entry fee. This is made possible through the generosity of private donations, contributions from civic organizations, and grant opportunities.
There are many ways to plug in and get involved with Special Olympics Boone County: volunteers to coach, volunteers to transport athletes, volunteer cheerleaders for the athletes, and financial donations, just to name a few. To learn more about Special Olympics Boone County and how you can get involved, visit their website here. Monetary donations can be sent directly to: Special Olympics Boone County, P.O. Box 485, Lebanon, IN 46052.