Project UNIFY is for Students

Youth are leaders in promoting acceptance and respect for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Join the Project UNIFY® movement and become an agent of change in your community.

Get involved:

Contact Your Local Program
Starting a Partner’s Club
Start a Youth Activation Committee (toolkit)
SO College
Host a Youth Rally or Youth Summit
How to Recruit Diverse Youth Leaders
Meet our National Youth Activation Committee
Become a Fan in the Stands (coming soon)
Fundraise for Special Olympics (coming soon)

Be a Leader

Are you ready to be an agent of change? Through Project UNIFY, you can become a youth leader by fostering involvement with Special Olympics in your school. The opportunities are endless when you are a youth volunteer with Special Olympics Project UNIFY.

Unified Sports Opportunities

Want to start an inclusive sport team in your school? Want to create friendships and positive environments through the joy of sports? Start Unified Sports® in your school and help students with and without intellectual disabilities compete together. Take a look at our Unified Sports handbook.

Spread the Word: End the R-word

Spread the Word to End the Word is an ongoing campaign to raise awareness about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed).” Join the global effort. Visit the Event Resources page on the R-word Website. Conduct an R-word campaign in your school. Learn how to respond to use of the R-word. Share the Time for Kids R-word poster toolkit with your school.

Spread the Word: Social Media

Through your personal online social networks, you can help share the message of Project UNIFY and spread dignity, acceptance and respect to your friends. Download the Social Media Resource Toolkit to learn more about activating social media in support of Special Olympics. And follow Special Olympics Project UNIFY on Facebook and Wordpress. Check out a great example of a school promoting Project UNIFY via the web from Mesa Middle School in Colorado.

Download Videos:

Project UNIFY is You
Project UNIFY is Friendship
Project UNIFY is Acceptance
Project UNIFY-Join the Movement
Project UNIFY-Get Involved
Sport Teaches Us
What is Project UNIFY (created by the National YAC)
View more videos on YouTube

Spread the Word: Videos

Special Olympics Project UNIFY and youth leaders around the country have created a collection of videos to help you share the message of acceptance and unity with students in your school.

Spread the Word: Games and Activities

Have fun while participating in Special Olympics Project UNIFY. Get involved with our Get Into It program and create your own Special Olympics story, send a greeting card to a friend or play our GII Games.

Youth Funding Application:

Online Application

Funding is available on a rolling basis during the 2011-2012 school year.

Youth Project Funding

Get your project off the ground with funding from Project UNIFY. Micro funding is available to anyone under the age of 21 looking to apply for specific projects relating to any of our core youth activities.

Get Involved! What You Can Do

Unite Behind Sports

Special Olympics Unified Sports® teams shatter stereotypes about people with intellectual disabilities in a fun and inclusive environment.

LEARN MORE»

Volunteer

Get in touch with Special Olympics near you and see what you can do to help. It's fun and can be life-changing.

FIND SPECIAL OLYMPICS NEAR YOU»

The Calendar

"Events" is a top search term for SO.org. Add your own events.

Find events near you and learn about volunteer opportunities at one of our 220 worldwide locations.

FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU »

Show Your Support

Mattel Corporation sponsors the Young Athletes program worldwide.
LEARN MORE »

Going Global

A grant from Ray and Stephanie Lane helps Project Unify grow worldwide.
LEARN MORE »

Support from DOE

The U.S. Department of Education is a major funding source for Project UNIFY.
LEARN MORE »

Special Olympics Blog

Rise Up Revolutionaries!

And today, I watched this video by Stu Chaifetz about teachers and adults who bullied Akian, a ten year old with autism in Cherry Hill New Jersey. It is a tale of fear and rage, as heartbreaking as it is infuriating. It is a call to all of us to rise up again, to demand change in Cherry Hill, to ask for an accounting from those who were abusive. Our own young leaders in Special Olympics Project Unify will understand the horrors of this video perhaps better than anyone. In a special way, I ask their leadership now.read more »

Posted on 2012-04-26 by Tim

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