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TIM SHRIVER AND SPECIAL OLYMPICS
HANNA ATKINSON
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
These words were spoken by the sister of former US president John F. Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and are known as the oath of Special Olympics—which Eunice founded in honor of their sister, Rosemary, who had a cognitive challenge. Special Olympics, more than any other organization, has dramatically changed how people with disabilities are viewed in this country and around the world.
Not long ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Tim Shriver, Eunice’s son, who is chairman of Special Olympics and a special friend of mine. He feels the oath is at the heart of the movement inspired by his aunt Rosemary and founded by his mother. Tim says the oath captures the best values of athletic competition, too: determination, grit, bravery, courage, camaraderie, friendship, and joy. Tim believes the best way to spread those values is by including everyone in the Special Olympics movement.
Q: Why did you choose to carry on with Special Olympics as your life’s work?
A: It’s the most important thing in the world, to include others. It makes me feel like I am contributing something impactful to the world.
Q: Tell me about a Special Olympics athlete who has had a huge impact on your life and why.
A: Loretta Claiborne. She taught me that lessons in simplicity and openness are where the truth is. She understands the world with an open heart and simplicity.
From Loretta’s biography as a member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics: Chief Inspiration Officer; Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Claiborne is a world-class runner and gifted motivational speaker who happens to also be a Special Olympics athlete and a person who has an intellectual disability. She has received two honorary doctorate degrees (Quinnipiac University in 1995 and Villanova University in 2003); completed 26 marathons (she finished in the top 100 women of the Boston Marathon with her best time 3:03); received the 1996 ESPY Award–Arthur Ashe Award for Courage; has a 4th degree black belt in karate; is an inductee into the Women in Sports Hall of Fame and into the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.
She has appeared twice on the Oprah show, communicates in 4 languages, and is fluent in American Sign Language. In 2000, Walt Disney Productions produced The Loretta Claiborne Story about her inspiring life.
Q: Tell me about a Special Olympics volunteer who has had a huge impact on your life and why.
A: My wife, Linda. She started a local Unified Sports team, and all of our five kids played Unified basketball. She wanted to create a program and get our family involved at a local level.
Q: With the fiftieth anniversary of Special Olympics having just passed, what’s new with the movement?
A: The Inclusion Revolution! We want 100 million people to pledge involvement and commit to inclusive sports, inclusive health, unified schools, and unified leadership. The kickoff was to create a blaze by lighting the eternal flame in Chicago and [to host] a concert.
Q: Where do you see Special Olympics in ten years?
A: More Unified Sports teams around the world in their own schools. I would like to see programs that highlight skill, leadership, and joy and for peers to learn from the athletes.
As a member of the Special Olympics family myself, I have enjoyed spending time with Tim on other occasions—in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; and elsewhere. This visit was especially memorable because we had a chance to discuss a book Tim wrote, Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most.
As I told Tim, it’s a flawless book that speaks about changing personal perspective and society. It has encouraged me to look at my greater, God-given purpose.
Q: Please tell me about your motivation to write your book.
A: I was learning a lot about Special Olympics athletes and realizing that they have a lot to teach. I felt misunderstood when I told others that. They thought I was doing a nice thing for the athletes. I wanted to write a book to clarify this. I was learning how to live my life—more happy, engaged, and motivated. It was a better way to live—a more loving, compassionate, faithful, and free way to live.
Q: Who is your target audience for this book?
A: Anybody interested in trying to find a way to live life with their heart more open.
Q: Is there anything else you want readers to know about you?
A: I am grateful to be in this movement, following our athletes and trying to make a difference in the world.
As a Special Olympics athlete, I am grateful for my special friend Tim Shriver, a gentle man who makes time to doodle with an athlete like me at a conference right before he stands up to present a vision of a movement so powerful, it is going to change the world.
If there is only one thing you take away from this interview, I hope you’ll remember Tim’s point about the way kindness works. At the same time you’re volunteering to help bring about positive change for others, you will gain more positive change in your life than you could have ever dreamed. And if you would join with all of us who are eager to be part of the Inclusion Revolution, let the words of our pledge be your guide:
I pledge to look for the lonely, the isolated, the left out, the challenged, and the bullied.
I pledge to overcome the fear of difference and replace it with the power of inclusion.
I #ChooseToInclude.
Hanna, I'm so proud of you for your involvement in Special Olympics and all the work you do to advocate for a more inclusive world! Thank you for profiling Tim Shriver—he is an inspiring man, and he is doing very important work. Our team at the Foundation has had the pleasure of meeting with him many times, and I’m so grateful to have seen firsthand the talent of Special Olympics athletes. This “inclusion revolution” Hanna writes about captures the spirit of a generation that not only accepts differences, but celebrates them. Let’s do everything we can to help build a more inclusive world. If you’re interested in joining the Special Olympics as an athlete or volunteering for the organization and signing the Inclusion Pledge, check out Special Olympics.
