10+ years as Team Otis volunteer for Special Olympics: a worthwhile experience By Nolwen Grassin, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia For more than a decade, a dedicated group of Team Otis volunteers has helped make Special Olympics France sports competitions happen. Anahita Gignoux acts as liaison between all subcommittees involved in organizing a competition for Special Olympics France Indoors Athletics Meeting which took place in Paris, France on 25 January 2004. She is joined by numerous coworkers who form "Team Otis" and support Special Olympics. [Photos by Nolwen Grassin, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia] For more volunteer profiles, visit Meet our Volunteers. "When an event gets off the ground and you see the joy on the faces of the athletes, you forget the countless hours involved in making it happen. Volunteering is definitely worthwhile. Everyone should experience it" “In 1994, the global initiative by Otis Elevator to support Special Olympics was presented to us, and we decided to organize an indoor athletics event,” said Anahita Gignoux, Director of Service Parts, Europe – Otis. “We knew nothing about Special Olympics or individuals with mental handicaps, but with 100 volunteers we organized our first athletics event for 125 athletes,” she said. Gignoux took on the demanding role of liaison between all subcommittees involved in organizing a competition and is a key contributor to the success of Special Olympics France. She has served as the main contact point for sports clubs that send athletes to the Special Olympics events. “I know so many of the athletes and, like me, they have been involved since the beginning. I am always happy to see familiar faces among the competitors,” she said. “Being involved with Special Olympics athletes is a humbling experience. It opens your mind so you see individuals with mental handicaps from a different perspective,” she said. “A cousin of my husband’s had a son with mental handicap. If I had not had this experience with Special Olympics I would have been awkward with him. Instead, we often invite him to stay with us. I have tenderness towards him. Being involved as a volunteer has changed the way I feel about individuals with mental handicaps.” With the support of Team Otis volunteers, the 10th Special Olympics France Indoors Athletics Meeting was held in Eeaubonne on the outskirts of Paris, France on 25 January, 2004. The event involved 450 athletes from all parts of the country, including 120 Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) participants. Gignoux said she is pleased to see that more Otis staff, family and friends have become involved so there is now a pool of hundreds of volunteers as well as new sponsors that support the yearly event. “When an event gets off the ground and you see the joy on the faces of the athletes, you forget the countless hours involved in making it happen. Volunteering is definitely worthwhile. Everyone should experience it,” she said. Return to main Celebrating Growth page The brightly colored yellow-orange shirts of Team Otis volunteers make them easy to spot on the sideline of this athletics competition.