Fundraiser being held for special atheletes
Twelve Utah athletes will participate in the 2003 Special Olympics in Dublin, Ire., and locals can help.
A fundraising event has been planned to take place in Lee’s Marketplace’s parking lot Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“The athletes that are going to Ireland have to raise $50,000,” said Sid Ahlstrom, who formed the committee that put the event together. “Our goal is to raise $20,000 for them.”
With over 30 sponsors, the event will feature free continental breakfast from Lee’s Marketplace, raffles and entertainment by Hillside 9 and the Cache Valley Cloggers, according to a press release.
The committee will sell Special Olympics Cache Valley Benefits Cards for $25 each. The cards are good for more than $400 in free gifts and discounts from local sponsors and are valid through December 2003, according to the release. Proceeds from the cards will go to the athletes.
“We want as many people as we can get, but we have no idea how many people are going to come,” Ahlstrom said. “I’m really excited to know that what we’re doing can make a
difference.”
Ahlstrom and two friends organized the event after the Special Olympics Committee at Utah State University told them of the need for funds.
“We came up with this idea and went around and got things together,” he said.
These Summer Games is the first Special Olympics event to be held outside the United States, so the athletes have a need for funds to cover their travel and other expenses, Ahlstrom said.
Four of the athletes will be at the event and will talk about their goals for the upcoming Games, according to the release. None of the competitors are from Cache Valley, but if the fund raiser exceeds its goals, extra funds may be donated to the local chapter.
“Hopefully, if we do really well, we’ll help out local athletes,” Ahlstrom said. “The local chapter travels all over Utah and competes against other chapters. They go somewhere almost every week, so they could use the funds, too.”
In the 2001 Winter Games in Anchorage, two athletes from Cache Valley competed. They will be at the fundraiser to share their experiences.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, many athletes – local as well as those going to Dublin – will compete in an invitational at the HPER.
“I’m volunteering next week, and I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the athletes,” Ahlstrom said.
The Special Olympics Cache Valley Benefits Cards are also available for purchase at USU Athletic Events and www.studenthaven/spolympics.com.
-kcartwright@cc.usu.edu