1. Purpose of Project UNIFY
Through Special Olympics, using sports as catalyst, activate youth across the country …
Promote school communities of acceptance and inclusion where all young people are agents of change …
Foster respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities
Many sounded high minded when we started.
Now Project UNIFY is real, and we know it’s working …
the results are evident in the last few weeks and since the Global Youth Summit in Boise,
the youth created and led “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign, and
the continued enthusiasm that has been generated.

2. Why Project UNIFY?
Strong and irrefutable evidence for Special Olympics sports and related programs …
Providing platforms for youth to understand and value their peers with intellectual disabilities, and
Empowering and activating youth to create opportunities for and with them in sport, friendship and advocacy.
Questions:
Why was this opportunity created?
Wasn’t Unified Sports® enough?
In 40 years of Special Olympics programming, as well as with research conducted recently,
there is no better platform for understanding and valuing people with and without intellectual disabilities
than Special Olympics.
Project UNIFY is an extension of Unified Sports® in which additional opportunities are provided for athletes and partners. 2

3. Scope of Project UNIFY Youth Leadership
School-Community Collaborations
Continuous Improvement
Communications
Professional Development
Unifying Programming (Unified Sports® in combination with other youth programming)
Creating and Sustaining Relationships
A major factor in Project UNIFY is …
it is a new way of doing business for us, and
staying true to a combination of core guiding principles is important –
this is not a new name for the same old youth programming.

4. Continuum of Engagement
Among youth, to become a leading cause, not just a service or activity:
Educate
Provide a climate of understanding of social justice
Motivate
Increase recruitment, engagement, and interest
Activate
Offer opportunities for action, as partners or in other leadership roles, & future leaders of Special Olympics
Why does it work?
This model or framework works for almost everything we do.

5. Athlete Leadership & Self-Advocacy
Menu of Opportunities Sports at the core / School as the unit of engagement
Athlete Leadership & Self-Advocacy
Youth Leadership
Communications & Engagement
Be a Fan – “R Word”
Website
Sports Experience
Inclusive Schools
SOGII – Essay Contests
Booster Clubs
School Enrichment
Global Youth Congress
Youth Summits
Schools
Traditional Sports
Games/Tournaments
Coaching
Volunteers
Fans in the Stands
Supports the service-delivery shift …
From a focus on just the events/initiatives
To a a focus on the whole school as the unit.
Early Childhood Enrichment
Young Athletes
Inclusive Sports
Unified Sports®
Camp Shriver 5

6. Unified Sports® Students with and w/out disability on same team
Creating inclusive school climates
The advantage to this unification of programming works in both directions –
Unified Sports® concepts can carry beyond the playing field
into the halls and classrooms…
Sutherlin High School 6

7. Soeren Palumbo Activist for individuals with intellectual disabilities
Inspired millions with his high school speech
Check it out on youtube:

8. R-Word Campaign Bend High School’s R-Word Rally
Educating society about the dehumanizing and
hurtful effects of the R-word
Bend High School’s R-Word Rally

9. The Pledge I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory
use of the R-Word from
everyday speech and
promote the acceptance and
inclusion of people with
intellectual disabilities.

10. Pledge and Plunge Educate others about the R-Word AND raise money
and awareness for Special Olympics Oregon athletes
Compete with other high
schools across Oregon to
raise the most $$$

11. Forest Grove High School

12. Show & Tell Other Students’ Projects

13. October 2, 2010 @ Nike Youth Activation Summit Youth Games Unified Sports

14. Questions?
This is the message (both a reminder and a call to action) from the young people with whom we work …
“Practice what you preach!”