Habitat for Humanity Car Donation Review

“As much joy as it brought Ethan, it brought me even more joy to see him so happy, having fun and living his life, competing in the Special Olympics.”

I chose to donate my car to Special Olympics for a multitude of reasons. The number one reason is my nephew, Ethan. Ethan is currently 24 years old. He has Williams Syndrome and spent the majority of his childhood growing up in Pennsylvania, outside of Philly. Ethan benefitted from the local Special Olympics, starting as early as elementary school. He continued throughout high school, up to 21 years old, participating in these fun events. He speaks fondly of them, often. As his aunt, I remember many years of driving up to support him in the local Special Olympics. As much joy as it brought Ethan, it brought me even more joy to see him so happy, having fun and living his life, competing in the Special Olympics. I miss those days, now that he’s older and doesn’t have the opportunity to participate in them anymore.

My second reason for donating to the Special Olympics is a combination of Ethan and my job. I’m a reading specialist at a special education school. While Ethan lives in Pennsylvania, I live in Maryland. I was able to see the benefits of the Special Olympics, directly to Ethan’s life and well-being. In Maryland, there is no local Special Olympics near us, like there is for Ethan. That means that at my school, there are over 75 students who would qualify to compete, however there is nothing official nearby for them to compete in. I hope that with this donation, we are able to bring the local Special Olympics to where I live in Maryland. Montgomery County, MD has over 1 million people, right outside of DC. A local special olympics would be worlds different than our current field day for our students who are 6th grade to 21 years old. It would give our students a source of accomplishment and pride, something that can be difficult for these students in school that are constantly struggling in areas other than PE, Art, and Music. The students, just like any student, own the items that they excel in. The Special Olympics should be available for them, regardless of disability, behavior, or socio-economic status. Please help me make that come true for my students, who are as much MY kids as my nephew, Ethan, my other nephews and nieces, along with my own biological children.

Thank You, Melissa!

Every day we empower athletes to shatter stereotypes and exceed their personal bests on the playing field and in life. But for every Special Olympics champion, there is another who is waiting for a chance to win. Please donate and help us get one more athlete onto the playing field.

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