Special Olympics Missouri

THROUGH YEAR-ROUND SPORTS, PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES GAIN ACCEPTANCE & INCLUSION.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS MISSOURI (SOMO) SERVES INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES EACH YEAR BY COMBINING THE HEALTH, FITNESS, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS RESULTING FROM SPORTS PARTICIPATION. SOMO INCREASED SERVICE CAPACITIES FOR MORE ATHLETES WHEN WE MOVED INTO THE NEW TRAINING FOR LIFE CAMPUS. THIS WORLD-CLASS FACILITY, CENTRALLY LOCATED FOR THE CURRENT 15,660 PARTICIPATING ATHLETES STATEWIDE (INCLUDING ATHLETES, UNIFIED PARTNERS, YOUNG ATHLETES, UCS ATHLETES AND UCS UNIFIED PARTNERS) AND MANY MORE ATHLETES WHO ARE NOT CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING, OFFERS SOMO THE ABILITY TO HOST VARIOUS DAY CAMPS, CONNECTS SOMO WITH THE COMMUNITY AND OFFERS UNPARALLELED ATHLETE OPPORTUNITIES. SPECIAL OLYMPICS MISSOURI, INC. RECEIVED OVER $750K IN BUDGET RELIEVING CONTRIBUTED SERVICES. WHILE THIS AMOUNT IS EXCLUDED FROM FORM 990 CALCULATIONS, SOMO BELIEVES THIS IS INTEGRAL TO OUR SUCCESS. ATHLETES WHO PARTICIPATE IN SPECIAL OLYMPICS CAN DOUBLE THE LIKELIHOOD TO FIND AND KEEP EMPLOYMENT, MAKING IT FAR MORE THAN A SPORTS ORGANIZATION. THE MOTOR SKILLS OF OUR CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN THE YOUNG ATHLETES PROGRAM IMPROVED AT TWICE THE RATE OF CHILDREN WHO WERE NOT INVOLVED. RESEARCH INDICATES DEVELOPED ECONOMIES, SUCH AS THE UNITED STATES, HAVE REDUCED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS BY AS MUCH AS 32% IN FEWER THAN TWO GENERATIONS. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DOES MORE THAN CREATE GOOD HEALTH, CONTRIBUTING TO LEADERSHIP, GREATER PRODUCTIVITY AND INNOVATION, AND SPECIAL OLYMPICS MISSOURI IS PROVIDING THIS TRAINING TO OUR ATHLETES FOR LIFE. APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF SOMO ATHLETES HAVE AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND ANOTHER THIRD HAVE DOWN SYNDROME. THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 154,000 INDIVIDUALS IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI THAT HAVE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND WE SERVE OVER 12,013 CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, WITH INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE FROM 515 COACHES AND 9,100 STATEWIDE VOLUNTEERS. SPECIAL OLYMPICS IS THE LARGEST PUBLIC HEALTH PLATFORM FOR PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN THE WORLD, PARTNERING WITH HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN MISSOURI TO OFFER FREE SCREENINGS.SPECIAL OLYMPICS MISSOURI IS PROUD TO HAVE 78% PROGRAM EXPENSES FOR 2023 WHEN INCLUDING CONTRIBUTED SERVICES/FACILITIES, AND 78% PROGRAM EXPENSES FOR 2022 WHEN EXCLUDING CONTRIBUTED SERVICES/FACILITIES. SPECIAL OLYMPICS MISSOURI (SOMO) PROVIDES YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH INNOVATIVE AND TRANSFORMATIVE SPORTS, WELLNESS, LEADERSHIP AND LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES.

THE HEALTHY ATHLETES PROGRAM IS AN INITIATIVE DEVELOPED BY SPECIAL OLYMPICS, INC., WITH A MISSION OF IMPROVING THE OVERALL HEALTH OF OUR ATHLETES THROUGH VARIOUS HEALTH SCREENINGS. THIS PROGRAM OFFERS ATHLETES THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH IN AN ENVIRONMENT FOCUSING ON THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. SCREENING PROGRAMS INCLUDE FUNFITNESS, HEALTHY HEARING, FIT FEET, HEALTH PROMOTION, OPENING EYES, SPECIAL SMILES, AND MEDFEST. WITH THE HELP OF LOCAL VOLUNTEER HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, FOR EVERY $1 SPENT FOR HEALTHY ATHLETES PROGRAMING, $7 IS RETURNED IN PRO BONO SERVICES. ALL HEALTHY ATHLETES PROGRAMS ARE PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE TO ALL SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETES, WITH 1,668 SCREENINGS ADMINISTERED IN 2023.