What are the benefits of volunteering with Special Olympics? “The Special Olympics athletes and other people I have met along the way have shaped my life in such a dramatic way. I found strength in them that I could not discover in anyone else. As I helped them, they changed me.”           — Nicole D'Andrea, volunteer coach and Unified Sports Partner, Special Olympics Connecticut (USA) If you're looking for a volunteer opportunity that can make a difference in both your life and the lives of others, Special Olympics is the place for you. Fahd Fak El Khaiai (left) and May Mohamed H. Elmehelmy of Special Olympics Egypt, followed by aquatics venue volunteers, acknowledge the fans in the stands as they celebrate their win in the 4x50 meter freestyle relay at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. [Photo by Steve Humphreys, IRELAND OUT] When you volunteer with Special Olympics, you have an opportunity to work with some of the world's most gifted individuals — Special Olympics athletes. Many organizations use volunteers. But only with Special Olympics can you walk out on the athletic field and see how your time and effort has made an immediate impact. All over the world, all year long, it can happen right before your eyes. Here are just a few of the benefits that Special Olympics athletes say they get out of participating in the movement: It gives us the opportunity to develop in an environment of respect and equality. It gives us the opportunity to develop as athletes and persons. It makes it easier for us to integrate into society. It helps us to get to know and participate with other athletes from other schools, other provinces and countries. It changes our lives, gives us more independence and helps us to make relationships easier, and to have more friends that are athletes and volunteers. By volunteering your skills, talents, energy and time, you help make all that and more possible. What greater benefit can there be than that? If you're ready to volunteer for Special Olympics, contact your local Program to find out how you can help. "'Go for the gold,' we keep telling our athletes. But it is the volunteers in Special Olympics who walk away with the gold, richer for the experience."           — L . Tusak, Special Olympics volunteer and coach