Hanna Atkinson SSIGM Blog # 16: Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s legacy

By Hanna Atkinson, Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger- SO Colorado
Special Olympics North America Medium Blog, July 2021

Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1921. This year marks the 100th anniversary of her birth. When thinking of Eunice, the words “powerhouse”, “trailblazer” and “uniter” come to mind. These are the words that describe Eunice’s spirit in my eyes.

Eunice chose to identify and champion a cause that would spread the message of hope in a way everyone will always remember. She focused on improving the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Eunice was inspired by her sister, Rosemary, who had an IDD and spent much of her life in an institution. Eunice believed that sports and competition could raise the confidence and abilities of people with IDD and change the way that society views and values those individuals. Sports could be a common ground to unite people from all walks of life. She wanted to show that Special Olympics athletes could work very hard to improve their sports skills and show those skills to the world.

Through Special Olympics, which she started in 1968, Eunice created a movement that opened people’s eyes and is responsible for how the world sees people with special abilities. It’s one thing to create an opportunity for a family member or neighbor who needs help; it’s another thing to change the world. That is certainly the way that Special Olympics has influenced my life.

The people who knew and worked with Eunice Shriver say it was hard to get her to relax. She was always working! This work ethic resonates with me. As someone privileged to become both an athlete and a Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger, I want to work every day to spread a message of hope and inclusion to set an example of what we can accomplish together.

This is an ongoing process. Eunice said she preferred to work and not push challenges off until the next day and just like Eunice, if someone told me to relax, I would respond: “The work that we do is just beginning and I don’t want to delay for a minute a world that promotes inclusion and kindness to each other.”

I wish I had had a chance to sit down with Eunice Kennedy Shriver while she was alive, but her legacy very much lives on. The impact that Eunice made on the world is undeniable. It inspires me. I want to honor her legacy showing the world how the movement she started has empowered my life, the life of my family, and over 6 million athletes around the world. Eunice is heroic! Eunice shared her powerful voice and story with the world. Eunice believed that we could do it and make a mark with the Special Olympics movement.

I am ever so grateful that Eunice started Special Olympics. Please join me in continuing the important work that Eunice started long ago and support the Inclusion Revolution by taking the Inclusion Pledge. I encourage all of you to help grow the Special Olympics movement alongside me and my fellow athletes. Now, who wants to be heroic like Eunice?