Hello Everyone!



I hope all is well with you but I wanted to share with you about the youth lead conference we had. On January 10th 2010, we hosted Project UNIFY Delaware Youth for Unity Conference at the University of Delaware. Over 130 high school youth throughout the state gathered to be educated, motivated and activated to be agents of change!



We had lots of different, fun and exciting activities! We then had an icebreaker activity to help the students meet others and feel comfortable sharing their ideas. We also had an educational yet interactive and fun activities to help people understand about the Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign. Participants also were asked to make action plans to take to their schools for 3.3.10!



One of the biggest hits of the conference was the Be a Fan Video Project! Clint (who was a facilitator) explained to the group what the Special Olympics Be a Fan Campaign is all about! Then we had a huge “word wall” (See my pictures on facebook or on the SO Fan Community Site!) that had over thirty words such as “acceptance, respect, inclusion, humanity, etc”. Two students from each table were asked to pick two of the words to talk to their table about what it meant to them. They were also to decorate the words creatively since it would be photographed for the video! Then each table were given one letter in the phrase, “Be a Fan of…”. (there were two tables for each letter). They were to spell the letter with their bodies while a video person taped the participants creating the word from a cherry picker high above! It was awesome!



So here is the video…

I hope you like it! Here is also an article about the conference on the SODE website!



If you have any questions or just want to talk about the conference, please let me know!



Have a great night!


Clem

Events happening after the trip that changed our lives.

Hello!

I hope all is well with you. Me and Caitlin have been very busy after our conference by carrying out the mission of Special Olympics Project UNIFY to foster a atmosphere of acceptance, inclusion and respect for all people regardless of abilities. We are excited to announce that January 10, 2010, Delaware will be hosting a Special Olympics Project UNIFY Delaware Youth For Unity Conference for high school youth with and without disabilities. This conference will cover topics in regard to the Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign, activities to bring together youth to help develop plan of actions for how their school will be able to spread the word of acceptance, respect, dignity, humanity and inclusion. This conference will last about three and a half hours and will be at the University of Delaware. For more information please check out this link -http://www.sode.org/initiatives/project-unify.asp

I have also been accepted into the naitonal Youth Activation Committee - the purpose is to educate, motivate, and activate youth around the country, with an emphasis on school communities, in an effort to develop a society where all people are agents of change – fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities by utilizing the programs and initiatives of Special Olympics. This committee is made up of twenty people with and without intellectual disabilities. We are planning the Summer 2010 National Youth Activation Summit. I am part of the Program Development sub-committee and we are excited for a great year =)

I am so thankful for this opportunity to help make the world a better place for all people regardless of abilities. I am so happy that together, we are breaking down barriers of hate, discrimination through education about the importance of inclusion for ALL people regardless of abilities. One of my favorite quotes is from the founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver "Every person, regardless of whatever different abilities they may have, can contribute, can be a source of joy, can beam with pride and love."

I am sorry for not keeping this blog updated. Have a good day !

Clement

Project UNIFY Video - Lincoln Nebraska - Clement and Caitlin's Prospective

Here is a Video that I made about Project UNIFY! :) I hope you like it!

Hey!

I am so sorry that I have not been keeping this blog updated. Me and Caitlin had a BLAST and we are so educated, motivated and activated to make changes in Delaware! We are going to have a "Youth for UNITY" conference soon and we are going to spice things up at the Polar Bear Plunge!

I am still writing my notes and reflection about the conference. I think it will be done by tomorrow - its a bit lengthy but great information! :)

Me, Jenny and Caitlin are going to meet soon to update this blog, post our mission, our goals and things to keep everyone informed and up to date!

Please check back often and sorry about the delayed postings!

Have a wonderful day! We together can make a difference and we are :)

Clem

Brief Post

Hey! We are having A BLAST!!! :)) We are meeting so many new cool people and we are learning so many things from this conference that we can use back in Delaware! We are branching out to other Special Olympic teams and seeing what their program offers and we exchange information so both programs will benefit!

Well, I would love to write more, but we are off to have a prep rally (decorating so many things) and then we are going to a softball game! :) It's going to be a blast and we will update the blog(a more through description on what our day was like :) Stay tuned!

Have a nice day :)

CAITLIN'S POST: I had a rough morning! I woke up at 3 am and so I was tired all morning. BUT this morning we had a super breakfast and then we had meetings ALL DAY LONG. it took a long time! I was so tired. The first meeting was about what Project Unify means. The teenagers were separated from everone and we all had to sign a big huge banner on the wall about what successful programs were like. We had lunch and then back for more meetings and then we had to do a group activity, and then we took a bus to be Fans in the stands at a softball game in Liincoln. We got home at like 9ish and I was so hungry. The good part about today was that Clem and I meet a LOT of people and we are friends with all of them. We are exchanging phone numbers and emails and facebooks. Everyone is so nice!!!!!

Dinner and Night :)

WOW!! Is one word to describe this place! We absolutely LOVE it! :) We are having a blast! The food was awesome and we met some really cool people! Caitlin and her mom are in one room and I am next door to them. I have a roommate, Dan who is from Alaska. He's really cool.

After dinner, we listened to a few speakers speak about the recent death of Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and about project UNIFY. After the speeches, we decorated t-shirts for kids to describe what Special Olympics is all about. It was so nice since we got to meet people from all over the country!

After the decorating, we had a group photo (I will post photos soon!) and then we were free for the night. Caitlin and I decided to go to the lobby and try to update this blog (but the free internet doesn't work as well). Then we went into the Computer Room and talked to other people about Special Olympics - it was fun and we didn't want to leave! Then we went to the shop and got some snacks :) Now we are just chilling in her room and just thinking of the fun day we had and we are excited for tomorrow! :)

We do miss home but we are having a blast here!

Thursday, August 13, 2009 - Lincoln, Nebraska

We made it! We left the Philadelphia International Airport at 11:18 and arrived in Atlanta, Georgia at 1:09. The flight was okay except for the person who had troubles with holding down her food (and the rest is self-explanatory!) Also, the departure from Philadelphia was an hour late. Then in Atlanta we rused to our next terminal (which was a level below and we had to take a train to get there!) ***Philadelphia is so small compared to this airport!). We did not even have the time to go and get lunch! Luckily, there was a snack place so Caitlin and me were :)

We got on the plane for Atlanta and it was a small plane. Due to its size, our luggage had to be checked in. We were so excited since on the plane, we met other people who were also headed to Nebraska :) Caitlin said that her toes were freezing since the ride was sooooo cold!!! LOL

More to come :) Its dinner time!! :)