Mecklenburg County Special Olympics Fund Raiser

Rivals for Respect Walk - High Schools Unite to Support Special Olympics

MECKLENBURG COUNTY NEWS -- Saturday, students from Hopewell and North Mecklenburg High Schools will be putting aside their traditional rivalry and working on the same team to support Special Olympics in the first-ever "Rivals for Respect Walk" on October 24,2009. The walk will begin at Hopewell High School, and participating students will walk the five miles to North Mecklenburg High School, crossing a finish line on the football field. Students are raising funds to benefit Special Olympics programs and are using this walk to promote awareness for people with intellectual disabilities, specifically encouraging their peers to stop using the hurtful word "retarded" in everyday language.

Special Olympics athletes from Mecklenburg County will join students for the last 100 meters as they cross the finish line together.

"We want to make a difference in the way people see Special Olympics athletes," says co-chair Izzy Piedmonte of North Mecklenburg High School, whose brother David participates in Special Olympics Mecklenburg County programs.

"Building the event around the rivalry has helped get students interested," said Hunter Meakin, the co-chair representing Hopewell High School. "Working together and then walking together in support of a great cause is very exciting."

The Rivals for Respect Walk is a highlight among national initiatives to bring high school students into the Special Olympics movement. "The leadership and energy these youth have demonstrated is tremendous," says Special Olympics North Carolina President/CEO Keith L. Fishburne. "Their fundraising efforts will have a great impact on our programs, and the awareness they have spread from peer to peer is so important to efforts to make schools and communities more inclusive for people with intellectual disabilities."

Anyone interested in participating in or supporting the Rivals for Respect Walk should meet at North Mecklenburg High School at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 24, 2009, (participants will be bused to Hopewell High so they will finish where they parked). The cost for participation is $30 per walker, which includes an event T-shirt and lunch at the finish line. All proceeds benefit Special Olympics.

Special Olympics North Carolina offers year-round sports training and competition for more than 38,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, including nearly 3,000 registered athletes in Mecklenburg County. These athletes inspire greatness through their success and provide motivation to the thousands of coaches, sports officials, local program committee members and event organizers involved in Special Olympics statewide. SONC offers Olympic-type competition in 20 sports on local, area and state levels.