Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day Media Highlights

Editor's Note: Tim is in the midst of a very hectic travel schedule right now but wanted to make sure we shared with you a select few of the media highlights from the first EKS Day! So check out the great stories from around the world below!


EKS Day Media Highlights:

27 Sept – Irish Times (Ireland) - Special Olympics founder honoured
On Saturday, Ms. Davis celebrated the memory of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver at Farmleigh House in Dublin. It was one of a number of events held worldwide to mark the inaugural Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day. Ms Kennedy Shriver’s son Mark also attended the Dublin event.

26 Sept – NJ.com (New Jersey, USA) - Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day
Special Olympics, the organization Eunice Kennedy Shriver began 42 years ago to provide athletic and other opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities, paid tribute to its founder in celebrations here and around the world yesterday. The local ceremony hosted by Special Olympics New Jersey featured placement of a time capsule in a memorial brick wall in front of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Sports & Training Center on Princess Road.

26 Sept – New Sabah Times (Malaysia) – Over 100 nations celebrate Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day
Over 100 countries worldwide celebrated the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day (EKS) yesterday, and in Malaysia, the Special Olympics Sabah (SOS) was given the honour to organise a Camp Shriver at Taman Awan Teluk Likas.

26 Sept – Namibia Sport (Namibia) – Football for Hope Centre inaugurated
The Katutura Football for Hope Centre was officially inaugurated on Saturday, September 25 with a high powered guest list in attendance including Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, Dr John Dow Junior of Special Olympics Africa, Jan Coetzee of Street Football World and Inge Zaamwani Kamwi of Special Olympics Namibia.

25 Sept – The Hindu (India) - World remembers Eunice Kennedy Shriver today
Special Olympics Bharat will celebrate founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver on Saturday, by organizing a host of activities and special runs.

25 Sept - Special Olympics and Michelle Kwan Skating Clinic
Fox 25 News (Boston, Mass, USA)
Michelle Kwan: “We're getting a bunch of Special Olympians, parents, volunteers getting the community together, getting on the ice, and this is happening all over the world”

25 Sept - Stadium Renamed for Eunice Kennedy Shriver
News 10 NBC (Rochester, NY, USA)
"The stadium formerly known as the Special Olympics stadium was re-named today in honor of Eunice Kennedy Shriver”

25 Sept - Eunice Kennedy Shriver Legacy Lives On
NBC News 4 Today (Wash. D.C., USA)
She may be gone but Eunice Kennedy Shriver's legacy lives on. Today her memory is being honored with the declaration of the first-ever Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day.

Meet David Rosenthal

Special Olympics Haiti athlete David Rosenthal with Tim Shriver

The surprises continue in Haiti. Last night, the most pleasant surprise was meeting David Rosenthal, a star athlete in every way. Sitting between David and his mother at dinner last night was an honor. David's mom told her story of trying to raise a son with challenges-- of David's seizures during childhood and of her feeling totally lost and rejected. Her word's echoed the ones I heard as a child when my mother spoke of her sister: "There was nothing for David and nothing for me. It was so difficult. There was nothing."

You wouldn't know it talking to David. He's all grown up now, 31, handsome, funny, and incredibly athletic. His mother has done a fantastic job and his smiles are biggest when he talks of his two medals won in Shanghai. "I'm ready to play other sports as soon as Special Olympics calls me," David said. "I'm ready."

Needless to say, there are over 30,000 other potential athletes like David in this struggling country. Our challenge is to call them. We start next month with 300 at our summer camps. But that is only a start. We have so much more to do to help create a unified Haiti. Thank goodness we have David who will help lead the way.