You are cordially invited to the

2023 Spring Games Opening Ceremonies

Monday, May 8 • 9:45 AM–12:45 PM • Soldier Field

The Opening Ceremonies celebrate our athletes with an athlete parade, words of encouragement from city dignitaries, and the lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron to officially kick off a week of track and field competitions.

Please also attend the 55th Annual Spring Games competitions taking place Tuesday, May 9–Friday, May 12 at Dunbar Park. Events are held from 10:00 AM–1:30 PM each day.

Click here for the full competition schedule

Good luck to all competing athletes!

Less than two months to join #TeamSpecialOChicago for the 2023 Chicago Marathon!

Are you looking for a spot in this year's Bank of America Chicago Marathon? Join Team Special Olympics Chicago! As part of our marathon team, you'll receive a guaranteed spot in the race, a refunded entry fee after raising the fundraising minimum, fundraising tips and toolkits, a discounted training program, and the best race day headquarters and cheering section at mile 25.5! Best of all, as part of #TeamSpecialOChicago, you'll be supporting Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities athletes all across Chicago!

Two athletes ran the Shamrock Shuffle for the new Runner 321 movement!

On March 26, Tim McDonough was the first SOC/SCC athlete to run a race as part of the Runner 321 movement. Tim ran the Shamrock Shuffle with fellow athlete Chris Shadden and completed the 8k race with an amazing time of 44:10! Tim has been competing as an athlete at Norwood Park for over a decade. His favorite sports are running, powerlifting, and skiing. He also coaches younger athletes at the park.

Tim had so much fun running the 5k that he is now planning to run the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 in June! Congratulations to Tim and Chris on a great race!

More about Runner 321

Runner 321 is a movement aimed at encouraging races across the country to assign bib #321 to a runner who is neurodivergent or has an intellectual or developmental disability. It was started by Florida athlete Chris Nikic, who will be wearing the bib as he runs the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October.

Along with the Shamrock Shuffle, SOC/SCC athletes will run the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 Half Marathon on June 4, the BTN Big 10k on July 15, and the Abbott Chicago 5k on October 7! We're looking forward to cheering them on all season!

Don't miss the BTN Big 10k and 5K!

We are excited to be a charity partner for this year's BTN Big 10K and 5K on July 15 at Soldier Field! Represent your favorite Big 10 school at this fun race, then join all the runners and fans at the Post-Race Tailgate. We'll be there and we want you to be a part of it!

Check out what our athletes have been up to!

We have lots of activities and competitions going on this month!

A new class with After School Matters, Hubbard Street Dance, and CPS

This spring, Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities is partnering with After School Matters, Hubbard Street Dance, and Chicago Public Schools to present a series of fun and educational classes for our athletes! Recently athletes from Chicago Vocational Career Academy participated in the first class. An instructor from Hubbard Street Dance got students moving, and then Chef Eboni taught them to make biscuits.

Intramural Volleyball

High Schools and Parks finished up with their volleyball intramural tournaments during the last week of March. In total 1,241 athletes and coaches participated at two locations for this very popular intramural league. The culminating events included awards and lunch for all of those participating. Volunteers from various organizations and schools joined us.

Intramural Bowling

We also recently had the culminating event for elementary school athletes participating in intramural bowling! More than 1,000 athletes had a lot of fun competing at four locations around the city.

After 22 Employment Update

Two of our athletes who have participated in the After 22 Program have secured permanent part-time employment with the Sloomoo Institute! Delia Jones and Jonathan Robertson are both Slimetenders–one of the most critical roles at the venue. Delia and Jonathan are responsible for creating an inclusive, warm, and welcoming experience for guests. They meet and greet every client and provide exceptional client experiences.

In March of 2022, Delia seized the moment to continue her educational aspirations transitioning from Southside Occupational Academy to Daley College, in the After 22 Program. Delia put her work readiness skills to use in the summer of 2022, when she landed a summer internship with One Summer Chicago at Navy Pier, in a maintenance position.

Jonathan recently wrapped up a 10-week internship at Mesirow Financial, where he was supporting the operations of the mail room. Jonathan balanced a number of different tasks, and he was responsible for managing and tracking all packages in and out of the mailroom, as well as delivering mail to all the floors in a timely manner. His dynamic personality and can-do attitude made him the perfect fit at Mesirow.

We are so excited for both of them!

Spring Family Opportunities

The spring session of Family Opportunities is underway! Athletes and family members can participate in lots of fun activities this season including Driving Range, Mini Golf, Archery, Indoor Rowing, and Bowling.

Check out the schedule

Are you a Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities athlete who wants to join our classes and activities?

Join our list

CAN TV

Did you know that our athletes have their own show on CAN TV? Their crew joined us at our Evening Reception to interview guests. Their show airs on the first and third Saturday of each month at 9:30 AM. You can also view episodes anytime on Youtube.

Athlete Artwork Feature

Our athlete artwork for April is “Winning Point” by Andy Peters of Mt. Greenwood Park.

Andy’s piece features a fun game of bocce surrounded by green grass and trees. Andy’s

artwork makes us excited for spring and all the bocce games to come!

Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities

2 E 8th Street, Suite 2M

Chicago, IL 60605

312-527-3743 scc@sochicago.org