1. John Cortale: Special Olympics History
Dedicated to contributing to his community, John Cortale supports such charitable organizations as the
Wounded Warrior Project and the Association of Retarded Children in Washington, D.C. The Bethseda,
Maryland, resident regularly donates to Special Olympics.
During the decades of the mid-twentieth century, John F. Kennedy’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was
moved by the treatment of persons with intellectual disabilities. In the early days, she opened her back
yard to a summer day camp for children with intellectual challenges. She began to learn what these
young people could do rather than what impeded their development. She founded the Special Olympics
after her participation on President Kennedy’s White House panel investigating issues related to
individuals with intellectual disabilities and directing the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation.
With 1,000 competitors with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics held it first Summer Games in July
of 1968 at Chicago’s Soldier Field. In 1971, the U.S. Olympic Committee designated Special Olympics as
one of only two U.S. organizations with the authority to include the term “Olympics” in its title.