Tom Harkin: “the first ever USA Special Olympics National Games will open this Saturday in Ames, IA. Looking ahead to this remarkable…”

“the first ever USA Special Olympics National Games will open this Saturday in Ames, IA. Looking ahead to this remarkable gathering of athletes, coaches, and family members from all across America, I want to salute the vision and leadership of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder and honorary chair of Special Olympics International. No individual in the world is more respected and admired for her tireless advocacy on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities. For four decades, Eunice has pursued this advocacy with her trademark passion and tenacity. As executive director of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, she has been instrumental in establishing the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, as well as a network of mental retardation research centers at major medical schools across the United States. In 1968, she established her most enduring legacy, the Special Olympics. Starting in Eunice's own backyard as a day camp for children with mental retardation, it has grown into a global movement that serves more than 2.2 million adults and children with intellectual disabilities in more than 150 countries.”