Special Olympics RI

The story of Special Olympics doesn't begin with a startup, but with a simple, powerful observation. In the 1960s, Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw that children with intellectual disabilities were often excluded from play. Her response was to start a summer day camp in her own backyard, focusing not on limitations, but on what they could achieve in sports. This foundational idea grew, leading to the first International Special Olympics Games in Chicago in 1968. That same year, the playbook was adopted in Rhode Island, establishing a local chapter to serve athletes and their families. Now known as Special Olympics Rhode Island (SORI), the organization operates as an accredited program of the global movement. Its core mission is to provide year-round sports training and competition at no cost to the participants, giving them opportunities for physical fitness, courage, and friendship. While it hasn't had an IPO or acquisition, SORI's growth is a significant story. The organization has scaled its operations to become the largest sports program in Rhode Island for individuals with intellectual disabilities, serving over 4,000 athletes. A major operational milestone has been the expansion beyond traditional sports competitions. SORI now runs extensive programs like Healthy Athletes, offering free health screenings, and the Unified Champion Schools program, which fosters inclusion by joining people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same teams and is active in schools across the state.