Georgia’s Champions Fall 2011

Dalton Rolls Out the Big Carpet for an Outstanding First State Fall Games in the Beautiful City

This year’s Special Olympics Georgia State Fall Games
was held in the carpet city of Dalton, offering an exciting and successful weekend of sports competition to 1,500 athletes in bocce, team softball, softball skills, golf, golf skills, cycling, and long distance running and walking, taking place at the beautiful Heritage Point Park and cycling downtown on the same course used by professional circuit races. Golf and golf skills competitions
were held at the gorgeous Nob North Golf Club. Also, eight athletes and three coaches from St. Lucia competed during the weekend in bocce, taking home two silver medals to the West Indies.

Special Olympics Georgia would like to thank the following sponsors of the 2011 State Fall Games:
Carpet City Rotary Club
Shaw Industries, Inc.
Textile Rubber & Chemical Co. Inc.
Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia
Controlled Products
Wells Fargo
Marketing Alliance Group
Alrol of America, Inc.

 

Congrats to Nandi Isaac of Macon

Congratulations to Nandi Isaac of Macon for being named Buddy of the Year by Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta Oct. 19 at the Buddy Walk! Nandi has developed her own “micro-enterprise”  where as the sole proprietor, she preserves people’s documents, special photographs and other things that people want to save. Nandi lives independently with roommates. She works hard at her business to realize the American Dream of owning her own place in the future. Nandi, although legally blind, participates in ice skating, bowling, basketball skills, equestrian and sailing! A Global Messenger for SOGA, she travels with her mother speaking to groups about self-advocacy and sharing her inspirational story.

Make a Difference with a Year-End Gift

 Be a fan of empowerment and help change lives with
a year-end donation! You can even make the donation in honor of someone as a holiday gift.
Click here to learn how you can make your life-changing year-end gift. “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” -Sir Winston Churchill

Complete Your Volunteer Applications  for Winter Games or Knit a Scarf

This colder time of year means two things: time to volunteer at
State Indoor Winter Games in Cobb County, Jan. 20-22 and/or knit a scarf for a Winter Games athlete. That weekend you can do a variety of volunteer opportunities including being a fan in the stands, cheering on athletes who’ve traveled across the state to compete in basketball, floor hockey, gymnastics, bowling, roller skating and powerlifting. During that weekend you can also be a fan in the stands at Southeast Powerlifting.

Click here for more information. Special Olympics Georgia would like to thank the following sponsors of the 2012 State Winter Games:
Stadion Money Management
Georgia Natural Gas
Lockheed Martin Aero Club
MetLife
firstPRO
AutoTrader.com
Winter Construction

Also, SOGA needs you to make a scarf for an athlete for Indoor Winter Games. Needed: 2,400 scarves 6” wide by 4-5’ long in red and soft navy to give to athletes in January. Please contact Jennifer at
Jennifer.Daniell@SpecialOlympicsGA.org or go to www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org for details on colors, etc.
Thanks for your help!

Take School Challenge: The Plunge

Polar Plunge is a wild, zany and fun opportunity for you to support
Special Olympics Georgia athletes by getting your friends and classmates to join you in your plunge into icy Lake Lanier.
Click here for a flyer. Polar Plunge will recognize the K-12 school that raises the most money.

SCHOOL PLUNGER Benefits

-Be on the News – The school to raise the most pledges by Feb. 17th at noon will have a chance to be featured on 104.7 the Fish.

-Win a Free Lunch for your TEAM! – A team can be any size…a group of 2 friends, 10 team members, or 50 students from the local high school. Plunging as a team is a blast and is the most popular way to participate. Teams raising over $2,500 in pledges will automatically earn a Team Pizza Party (up to 75 pizzas) as well as the other incentives!
-Volunteer Hours - Team members will receive a letter from
Special Olympics acknowledging your community service – great for resume, college applications, community service requirements for school, etc.
-School Pride – The school that raises the most pledges wins a huge Polar Plunge – Freezin’ for a Reason Trophy – awarded to school team that raises the most!
Start today by going to http://www.firstgiving.com/soga/polar-plunge-2012 and creating a team for your school! Make sure to indicate your team is part of a school, so you can be recognized appropriately.
For more information please contact Danny Knight, 229-292-5143 or770-414-9390 ext. 199 or by e-mail at
Danny.Knight@SpecialOlympicsGA.org.

 Go Over the Edge April 20-21

Can you be fearless and face a new challenge head on? Well, here’s your chance! April 20-21 you could be rappelling down  the 22-story Overlook III in Vinings  and experiencing the exhilaration of participating in an event out of your comfort zone that can change your life forever  – the same thing our Special Olympics athletes experience every day. It is your chance to show our athletes your courage and your support of what they experience daily. Click here to learn more!

Subaru “Share the Love” event

We’re proud to be one of five charitable partners in the
Subaru “Share the Love” event. Subaru knows their owners care. That’s why they created the Subaru “Share the Love” event. You get a great deal on a new Subaru and they’ll donate $250 to your choice of five charities, one of which is Special Olympics. Over the last three years, they’ve donated nearly $15 million dollars to charity. They hope to donate another five million by sharing the love again this year.
Whether you are in the market for a new Subaru, or you know someone who is, be sure to pick Special Olympics as your “Share the Love” charity and help support our athletes. Learn more by visiting www.Subaru.com/share. Each of
the participating charities will receive a minimum donation of $250,000, up to a maximum total donation among all five charities of $5,000,000.

The SOGA Community Makes A Difference

We often receive calls from individuals, companies, and groups who have an idea for a fundraiser and want to donate the proceeds to SOGA. Every single fundraising effort, no matter the financial outcome, is very significant and makes a tremendous difference. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following:
• Dunwoody Country Club – Charity Events raised approximately $35,000
• Marlow’s Tavern – Golf Tournament raised approximately $47,000
• Winter Construction – Golf Tournament raised approximately $28,000
• Market St. Café – VIP Reception raised $1,098
• California Pizza Kitchen – Give Back Day raised $354.28
• UBS Financial – employee Denim Days raised $525
• Chartis – employee Denim Day raised $660.07
• SuperValu – Golf Tournament raised $6,500
• Community Fundraising Books – Coupon Book Sales raised $1,320
• CrossFit on the Square – Grand Opening Party raised $165 

And THANK YOU to our monthly donors:

Louis Dorris, Lydia Gama, Philip Miller, Kate Purvis, Mathew Stokes, and R. Todd Wickliffe.

Contributing to SOGA Through Your Company’s United Way Campaign
United Way allows its donors to choose to direct all or a portion of their gift to a specific agency. Although SOGA is not an organization funded by United Way, you can still donate to SOGA through your company’s United Way campaign. If your company provides for electronic enrollment through
United e-Way, SOGA information must be input at the directed donations screen.

You will need the following information to direct your United Way contribution to SOGA:Special Olympics Georgia
4000 Dekalb Technology Parkway
Suite 400, Building 400
Atlanta, GA 30340
Tax ID 23-7201676

 Cobb County Athletes and KSU
Athletes Play Unified Volleyball in Exhibition Game

Special Olympics Georgia athletes from Cobb County  played a short volleyball game with a few Kennesaw State University athletes at their Women’s Varsity game Oct. 29.
The exhibition was a great demonstration of how the unified sports program works. Unified Sports brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities an opportunity to play on the same team, with the hope fostering inclusions in sports and school programs.
Click here to read more about unified sports.