Athletes demonstrate skills.

Two Special Olympics athletes demonstrated their athletic prowess with a powerlifting and gymnastics exhibition immediately following the first day of issuance ceremony of the new Special Olympics International rate postage stamp. The ceremony took place February 13, Chicago, Illinois. (The first Special Olympics World Games were held in Chicago's Soldier Field in 1968.)

Raymond Andrews and Nicole Composono, two of the more than 1 million athletes from more than 150 countries who participate in Special Olympics, joined the United States Postal Service and more than 200 guests at the ceremony for the new 80-cent commemorative stamp. Andrews and Composono are part of the Illinois delegation of Team USA who will compete in the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland, June 21-29.

The new stamp, which is currently available at post offices throughout the country, features a computer-generated design by Lance Hidy of Merrimac, Massachusetts. "The Postal Service has a long tradition of issuing stamps that support and encourage social awareness issues," said John E Walsh, Vice Chairman of the presidentially appointed Postal Service Board of Governors, who dedicated the stamp. "It is our hope that the Special Olympics stamp will help highlight this wonderful organization and bring to the attention of all Americans the special courage and tenacity that is the hallmark of these exceptional athletes." Timothy P. Shriver, President and CEO of Special Olympics, stated, "We are grateful to the Postal Service for honoring Special Olympics athletes worldwide, who every day ask us all to focus on the important gifts in life, including the chance to be part of a world where everyone has an opportunity to be a champion."

Since the mid-1950s, the Postal Service has issued stamps highlighting social awareness issues. Recent examples include Diabetes Awareness, Mentoring a Child, Adoption Awareness, and Organ and Tissue Donation stamps. Current U.S. stamps and philatelic products, as well as the free USA Philatelic catalog, are available by calling toll free 1-800-STAMP 24.

Invest in a Life

Invest in a Life, a new global initiative, is an ambitious goal to reach 1 million new athletes by 2005, as well as raising the necessary funding to accomplish the goal. Stock exchanges, a global symbol of investment, were the selected sites of the announcements initiating Invest in a Life. The global stock exchanges served as symbolic proof Special Olympics is a good cause, as well as a good investment, and that Invest in a Life will transform lives for people with mental retardation worldwide and inspire those who invest in them.

Co-chairs of the Campaign for Special Olympics Steve Case, AOL Time Warner, and Peter Lynch, Fidelity Management & Research Company, joined Special Olympics President and CEO Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Special Olympics athletes in ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Bells were heard around the world as global financial leaders and Special Olympics athletes also presided at the opening of Stock Exchanges in Dublin, Ireland; Johannesburg, South Africa; London, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Mumbai, India; Tokyo, Japan; and Warsaw, Poland.

"For 35 years, Special Olympics has become well known as a sports program," said Lynch. "The truth is, for more than a million people with mental disabilities we serve in more than 150 countries around the world, it's about much more. For them, the return on investment in Special Olympics is immeasurable: dignity, confidence, improved health and a chance to become active members of society. I dare ask anyone if that is not worth investing in."

I am Proud: Athletes of Special Olympics

The faces of pride, the spirit of courage and the power of respect have been captured in a 12-year documentary of inspirational Special Olympics athletes called I am Proud: Athletes of Special Olympics. It is a tribute to the movement's one million athletes worldwide and includes a collection of more than 100 photographs taken by world-renowned photographer Richard Corman.

This limited edition, 11x14-inch book published by Barnes & Noble, features compelling black-and-white photographs depicting the energy and excitement of men and women, boys and girls as they display their skills and celebrate their gifts as Special Olympics athletes. The publication of I am Proud coincided with the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Dublin, Ireland, June 21-29.

More than just photographs, I am Proud unites Corman's powerful images with inspirational messages from international leaders. These included Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, soccer legend Pele, poet laureate Maya Angelou, Pope John Paul II, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Special Olympics athletes as affirmation of the impact Special Olympics has on the lives of not only its athletes but the global community.