On Saturday, September 24, Special Olympics will celebrate the second annual Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day (EKS Day) all around the world.  In North Carolina, we will highlight this year’s EKS Day theme of A Global Day of Unified Play by encouraging  EKS Acts, which are actions or activities that promote inclusion, acceptance and unity for and with people with intellectual disabilities.  These activities can be carried out by one person or a small group of people to celebrate Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s values and mission.

Leading off the activities will be an inclusive sports experience during the fall meeting of the SONC Project UNIFY Youth Activation Council to be held in the Raleigh area for more than 50 school-aged students from all over North Carolina.  

During the SONC Leadership Conference this summer, I encouraged Local Program Coordinators to plan activities in their communities to showcase the efforts of Special Olympics while also highlighting this year’s theme.  We look forward to many great experiences from activities that will occur and encourage these EKS Acts to be posted on the EKS Acts website at http://www.specialolympics.org/eksday/.

As founder and honorary chairperson of Special Olympics and executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a leader in the worldwide struggle to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities for more than three decades.  Learn more about Mrs. Shriver at www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/.