Special Olympics
Through year-round sports training and competition, Special Olympics empowers individuals with intellectual disabilities to have an opportunity to participate in society and to develop belief in themselves. The Special Olympics movement began in 1962 when the sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, started a summer day camp for children and adults with intellectual disabilities at her home, and continued with the support in 1968 of The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation before becoming the global movement it is today. Special Olympics began its first activities in Japan in 1980 and today conducts a wide variety of sports and cultural activities across the country as a recognized NPO, Special Olympics Nippon.
Deutsche Bank Group began its relationship with Special Olympics when it sent a group of employee volunteers to support the ‘2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games’ held in Nagano. Over an eight-day period, 31 employee volunteers rotated to support the operation of this major sporting event, gaining experience outside of their regular working environment, deepening their understanding of the challenges faced by individuals with intellectual disabilities, and realizing an opportunity to support our society. Since then, employee volunteers from Deutsche Bank Group have gone on to regularly support a number of national and regional Special Olympic Nippon events.
Overview of Deutsche Bank Group’s support for Special Olympics
2005 |
2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Nagano
31 employees participate as volunteers |
2006 |
Special Olympics Nippon, Fourth National Summer Games, Kumamoto
22 employees participate as volunteers |
2008 |
Special Olympics Nippon, Fourth National Winter Games, Yamagata
63 employees participate as volunteers
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Idaho
An exhibition and auction of artworks donated by Special Olympics Nippon Tokyo athletes, together with a donation drive, raised funds for Special Olympics Nippon towards the costs for sending the Japan national team to the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho. |
