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Two new viral initiatives will help boost community involvement
Thursday, 30 October 2008, marks the “100 Days to Go” milestone for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The World Winter Games will be held 7-13 February in Boise, Idaho, USA.
“This is a momentous day for us,” said Chip Fisher, CEO and Chairman of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. “With just 100 days to go until the Games officially begin, we are in the home stretch and are eager to show the world and the Special Olympics athletes participating from around the world what Idaho has to offer.”
In conjunction with this monumental date, the World Winter Games is announcing two viral initiatives, incorporating the Idaho community and communities across the globe in an interactive public awareness and support campaign driven by community involvement and individual participation.
The first is an online contest titled “Be a fan. Share your spirit.” The goal of the contest is to promote the universal athlete values of Strength, Determination, Empowerment, Inspiration and Community to show values common not just in Special Olympics athletes, but within all athletes in order to dispel longstanding myths, change negative attitudes and build new opportunities to embrace and celebrate people with intellectual disabilities. Contest entries are submitted as either a short essay with a photo, or a video about a particular value with an opportunity for people to share their entries with friends and family. Selected content from entries will also be exhibited during the Games in both Sun Valley and Boise. Prizes will be awarded based on a combination of bi-weekly random drawings, plus 14 finalists along with one grand prize winner will be selected from a panel of judges. Visit the contest site to submit your entry.
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The second aspect of this campaign is an online fundraising tool. With the help of Active.com, Special Olympics and World Winter Games supporters from around the world can support the Games by building their own fundraising pages or starting a group fundraiser. User-friendly technology allows users to set a goal for their fundraising page or fundraising team, choose their own page layout and design, upload photos and even send emails to prospective supporters and invite others to join. Delegation pages have also been created for each country attending the Games so Special Olympics supporters from nations across the globe can support the Special Olympics delegation of their choice. Build your own fundraising page.
For more information on the 2009 World Winter Games, visit http://www.2009worldgames.org/.
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