Eunice Shriver: Mother of the Special Olympics

In honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, it’s fitting to take a look at the woman who founded the Special Olympics in 1968. A long-time advocate for better schools, programs, and acceptance for the mentally-challenged, Shriver started Camp Shriver, a camp for mentally-disabled children, at her family’s Maryland estate in 1962. She taught the campers to swim in the family pool and organized other sports activities.

Camp Shriver, now a collection of more than 300 camps, led to the creation of the Special Olympics in 1968. The first games were held in Chicago with 1000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 US states and Canada, competing in athletics, floor hockey and aquatics.

Today, the Special Olympics programs serve 2.25 million people in 160 countries. The games include 30 summer and winter sports.

Happy Mother’s Day Mrs. Shriver…and to all “Light the Torch” readers.

^{(photo of Eunice Shriver with her daughter, Maria Shriver accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 2007 Women’s Conference © Newscom)}