Transcript Youth Activation Committee Training

 How long have you been involved with Special
Olympics Wyoming?
 Who or what inspired you to become involved with
Special Olympics Wyoming?
Why are you here this weekend?
 To learn about the youth leadership initiatives and
your role on the Youth Activation Committee (YAC)
 To learn about how your role on the YAC will benefit
Special Olympics Wyoming’s efforts to bring Project
UNIFY to all schools in Wyoming.
 I am going to tell you about Youth Activation
Committee (YAC).
 As I am telling you, every time you hear me say
“Special Olympics (Wyoming)” Pass the prize to the
left “Project UNIFY” Pass the prize to the right “Youth
Activation Committee (YAC)” Pass the prize across
 When I am done telling you about YAC the person
holding the prize gets to keep it.
 Special Olympics is an International Organization
reaching 180 countries and over 1 million athletes
around the world.
 Special Olympics first started in 1963 by Ms. Eunice
Kennedy Shriver when she created a day camp for
Children with Intellectual disabilities
 Special Olympics Inc. has been in existence for 44
years with the first summer games held in 1968 at
Soldier Field in Chicago for 1000 athletes.
 Special Olympics Wyoming held their first summer
games in 1972 in Casper at Natrona County High
School with 210 athletes competing
 We currently service over 1300 athletes!
 We offer training and competition in 16 sports at 5
statewide events as well as regional and local
competitions leading up to the state level events.
 1300+ athletes
 More than 1400 coordinators, coaches, games
Volunteers, fundraising volunteers, and committee
members
 Year-round sports training and competition:
 Winter Games
 Summer Games
 Fall Tournament
FROM
•One Country’s Movement
TO
A global movement
•Pity
Empowerment
•“Nice” thing to do
Important for society
•An occasional event
A part of everyday life
•A charity
A Global Marketing Partner
•About “those special people”
About all of “us”
 State YAC is a group of youth comprised of members
with and without intellectual disabilities from across
the state.
 They will work together through out the year to
educate, motivate and activate youth to become agents
of change in their communities and advocate for the
respect, inclusion, and acceptance of all people,
regardless of abilities.
 The goal of YAC is to reach out to other youth to help
carry out social justice for all people.
 The YAC supports SOWY’s Project UNIFY efforts by
offering youth perspectives.
 Example: The mission of Special Olympics Wyoming
is to provide year round sports training and
competition in a variety of Olympics-type sports for
children and adults with intellectual disabilities,
giving them continuing opportunities to develop
physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy,
and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and
friendship with their families, other Special Olympics
athletes and the community.
 Example: Mission of LEGOS (Out of Colorado)
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Remove Stereotypes and build friendships; by
encouraging youth to become leaders and proivde
opportunities to empower growth and success in
schools and in the community.
Describe what YAC does.
Describe how YAC does it.
Why does YAC do it.
Put it all together.
Now lets talk about mission statements and write one
for YAC.
 Make Special Olympics more relevant to more people
 Attract new volunteers and Special Olympics
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participants, especially youth
Motivate greater financial participation from
individual donors and corporate sponsors
Change attitudes about people with intellectual
disabilities
Engage the community to create commitments to the
movement
Work towards social inclusion in school communities
through Project UNIFY iniatives.
As an athlete
As a coach
As a partner
 What is your most important
responsibilities as a
representative for Special
Olympics Wyoming?
 Educate and promote Special
Olympics Wyoming in a
convincing manner
 Know the facts about Special
Olympics Wyoming
 Be able to relate them to the YAC
 Be attentive during workshops
 Understand Special Olympics
 Lean ways to provide information
 Maintain contact with your mentor and Special
Olympics Wyoming Staff
 Represent Special Olympics Wyoming Professionally
 Voice your opinions, so that people know what you are
thinking.
 Know the athlete
 Understand Special Olympics
 Provide support as needed
 Commit to working with the athlete or peer
 Allow the YAC member to express themselves
 Provide constructive feedback
 Stay in touch with Special Olympics Wyoming Staff
 Represent Special Olympics Wyoming Professionally
 Understand this is a YOUTH lead program
 Ideally the State YAC would meet more than once a
year, but since this is our first year implementing YAC
we’ll have a “mach” YAC today to find out what your
opinions are about Project UNIFY.
 To create more of an impact because each committee
can focus on their individual goals.
 Program Development Sub-Committee
 Outreach Sub-Committee
 Communications Sub-Committee
 Develop and promote new inclusive program ideas.
 Example: “Fans in the Stands”
 Make sure all previous programs are being
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implemented at highest quality.
Make recommendations for improvement (for this
conference).
T-shirt colors and designs
Ideas for “Spread the word to end the word” goodies.
Main Goal: To assemble and conduct meetings to
increase YAC members knowledge and skills
 Actively promote Special Olympics/Project UNIFY
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involvement
Educate Schools and Community groups by providing
Project UNIFY and Special Olympics Wyoming materials
and information.
Create a flyer for a P.U. initiative to be distributed in
schools and communities
How do we best reach out to other schools and students?
Main Goal: Research and recruit new potential Project
UNIFY schools and YAC members by promoting public
awareness, educational opportunities, event
sponsors/volunteers, and collaboration partner.
 Communicate the purpose and impact of project
UNIFY.
 Utilize various media methods (social networking,
radio, websites, videos, etc.)
 Create a communication tool for SOWY to use for
Project UNIFY outreach.
 Main Goal: Gathering stories, creating press releases
and maintaining web presence on FaceBook, fan
community and special Olympics Wyoming websites.
 The ABC’s of Goal Setting
 A = Achievable
 B = Believable
 C = Conceivable
 S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting
 S = Sensible
 M = Measurable
 A = Achievable
 R = Realistic
 T = Timeline/Timely
 What are some ways that you can think of to
demonstrate courage?
 Why do you think that demonstrating courage could
cause you to experience joy?
 What are some ways to share gifts within the
community?
 Meaning what are things that you can do to help out
your community and get them more involved with
Special Olympics?
AS A YOUTH ACTIVATION COMMITTEE (YAC) MEMBER, YOU
MUST COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDUCT GUIDELINES
AT ALL TIMES, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU ARE
DOING. WHEN YOU ARE ON YAC, YOU REPRESENT THEM AT ALL
TIMES, NOT JUST WHEN YOU ARE AT THE EVENTS:
 Dress and act in a responsible manner that positively represents Special
Olympics and the YAC. Profanity, taunting, and other forms of poor
sportsmanship; uncooperative behavior; and inappropriate pictures or
posts online are subject to disciplinary measures.
 Respect all residential sites, meeting sites, dining facilities,
competition venues, and other activity areas.
 Treat other Project UNIFY Youth Activation Committee Members, all
activity participants, athletes, coaches, staff, officials and volunteers
with respect and communicate in a courteous manner.
 Do not drink or use alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and/or non
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prescription drugs.
Agree not to engage in any inappropriate contact or relations with
Special Olympics athletes, partners, chaperones, staff, officials, or
volunteers.
Ensure that you are at the designated meetings, sessions, scheduled
events, meals, and other activities on time.
Be certain to wear proper credentials when provided and appropriate
clothing suitable for the weather.
Follow the directions of your chaperone while traveling and all the time
you are attending the YAC events.
HAVE FUN!!!!!!!