Yankees To Host Special Olympics Day At Yankee Stadium On Wednesday, August 29

The New York Yankees, along with Special Olympics New York, will host “Special Olympics Day at Yankee Stadium” on Wednesday, August 29 when the Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m.

Prior to the game, approximately twenty Special Olympics athletes, all from the Bronx, will take part in a “Field of Dreams,” joining Yankees players at their respective positions on the field for the National Anthem.

Additionally, a pregame ceremony with Neal Johnson, President and CEO of Special Olympics New York will be held at home plate.

The Special Olympics movement began in the early 1960s, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw how unjustly and unfairly people with intellectual disabilities were treated. Her vision of helping these individual took shape, when she held a summer day camp for young people with intellectual disabilities in her own backyard. The goal was to focus on what these children could do in sports and other activities without dwelling on what they could not do.

Established in 1969 by Dorothy Buehring Phillips, the Special Olympics New York Program is dedicated to providing year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-style sports for all children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Through their participation in the program, athletes gain confidence and build a positive self-image, which carries into the classroom, the home, the workplace and the community.

Today, Special Olympics New York serves over 55,000 athletes, making it the largest such program in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. Funded primarily by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations, the organization never charges athletes, their families or caregivers for training or competition.

More information on the program and how to sponsor an athlete can be found on the Special Olympics New York  website: www.specialolympicsNY.org.