It is amazing, because I have wondered so much at whether or not my education in graphic design and organization communication would help me at all in life, and this process has blown me away at how vital the two are to what I want to do.
This is a really important cause right now because the effect of the recession on Special Olympics threatens sports to be cut. If you know anyone with intellectual disabilities that is involved in Special Olympics, then you know what a travesty that would be; for some people, this is all they have.
The name of the run, "Run for Respect", was inspired by the Special Olympics R-Word campaign. This campaign is very close to my heart, because it addresses the casual use of the r-word (retard) in our generation’s language. For anyone close to these incredible individuals, it is like a slap in the face. People with intellectual disabilities have it so much harder than we could possibly imagine, and are so much more than we give them credit for. This run is dedicated to each and every one of the Special Olympics athletes, to show them that they are loved and that the only r-word they deserve is Respect.
This is honestly a once in a lifetime opportunity. This event is more than a run - it is a movement. You will be running alongside Special Olympics athletes, and cheered on by them from all sides.
I am so in love with organizing this event. I gain my energy from it. Most people dispise making cold calls and going all over town asking for sponsorships, but I love it. I love that this summer at the Buckle I gained confidence in persuasion. Prior to working there I honestly viewed persuasion as unethical in alot of ways, but after taking numerious classes focusing of persuasion in college and being trained in it this summer, I can see how incredibly powerful it is. For some reason, in the past few years I have developed this drive of persistence through obsticals. Like, the more closed doors in my way, the more energy I have to get through them or around them. There have been SO many obsticals in this event, but on of the greatest ones that I have faced (that spurs me on the most) is how skeptical perspective sponsors and organizations are of this being run by a college girl. I found myself adjusting my voice and language on the phone to make myself sound older. It was just funny because I had full confidence from the beginning that I would pull this off and that it would be great, but I seemed to be the only one. My group members were going along with it, because I was way to excited and confident for them to turn down actually doing this with me. I guess that I should explain that the event started with a project for my Persuasion class. The assignment was to find a business in Abilene, and come up with a MOCK plan for how to help them. Well, that was all I needed. My poor other 3 group members didn't have a chance. This was actually gonna happen, and it was up to me to make the extra work as painless as possible for them. So yeah, recently they all admited to thinking that this was crazy, and that we wouldn't follow through. I got this vibe from the beginning, and like I said, it only pushed me forward.
This has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I am more positive than ever that the Lord put it on my heart to touch the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilites and their families... that he equipt me with strong leadership, interpersonal, and organizational skills, and blessed me with artisitc and creative ability to bring it all together.
Becca
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