On Saturday 5 September 2015, Special Olympics Lëtzebuerg and the Section de Marche of the FC Tricolore Gasperich-Millewee will be holding a public walk to commemorate Eunice Kennedy-Shriver, the instigator of the Special Olympics movement.
Sister of President Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy-Shriver first developed the idea of the Special Olympics in the 1950s, as a means of combatting the stigma and unfair treatment experienced by people with disabilities at the time. She began to create special programmes and spaces to allow those with mental disabilities to see how much they could do rather than what they could not do. Eunice Kennedy-Shriver died in August 2009, and the walk will serve to honour her memory.
Saturday's walk will be open to anybody, with a participation fee of €1.50. Participants are invited to commence their walk of either 5 or 11 km at the Home paroissial in Gasperich, between 13:00 and 16:00. Free tea will be made available at break points along the walk.
The association has been involved in various initiatives since the Special Olympics Luxembourg team made a triumphant return to the Grand Duchy in July 2015 after winning 28 medals at the Special Olympics World Summer Games.
The team also recently released a CD featuring Special Olympics song 'Everyone is Special', available to buy.
Photo by Spokeo (Eunice Kennedy-Shriver)
