2,000 Volunteers Power Hawaii Special Olympics Summer Games

When 2,000 people show up to volunteer for a single weekend, you know something special is happening.

The Special Olympics Hawaii Summer Games kick off Friday at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, bringing together athletes with intellectual disabilities for three days of competition. For the first time since the pandemic, all events return to the university's campus, including track and field, swimming, powerlifting, and softball.

"Without our volunteers, nobody in this office can do their job," says Dallas Jenkins, volunteer coordinator for Special Olympics Hawaii. "It's a huge job and it's all just from the goodness of people's hearts."

The athletes will compete on the same surfaces used by Hawaii's only Division I athletics program. President Dan Epstein says that matters more than people might think.

"Being on a college campus, our athletes feel like they're being acknowledged as athletes," Epstein explains. "They've been training for months for this event, so getting to use those facilities, they really feel like it."

The return to full capacity marks a milestone after years of scaled-back events during COVID. Track events had been held at Kaiser High School while the university completed its new on-campus track and field facility.

The Ripple Effect

Volunteers say the experience changes them as much as it impacts the athletes. Jenkins describes the transformative power of simple moments.

"The joy that you see on the athlete's face, just giving them a high five when you walk past is like everything," she says.

But organizers hope the weekend creates something bigger than just great memories. Epstein wants that feeling of respect and acceptance to extend beyond the games.

"Many times after the weekend is over when you step off campus, they're looked at as somebody with a disability and not necessarily given that same level of respect or appreciation," he notes. "Our goal is to really carry that bubble of inclusion beyond Special Olympics."

The 2,000 volunteers join year-round coaches and staff who support individual teams throughout Hawaii. Together, they're building a community where athletes are celebrated not despite their disabilities, but simply as athletes.

Opening ceremonies begin Friday at Les Murakami Stadium, where thousands will gather to prove that inclusion isn't just a weekend event.