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arose

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1 reviews

Review for Special Olympics Maryland Inc, Baltimore, MD, USA

Rating: 4 stars  

As a swimmer in high school I figured I should put the hours I clocked in the pool to good use. I worked one on one with kids for two to three hours ever Friday night at the Annapolis Swim Center. I became close with several of the swimmers and really looked forward to seeing them and their family's every Friday. The staff I worked with were super positive people that were extremely dedicated to working with Special Olympics. At the end of the year there was a large meet hosted at the Naval Academy in which all of the swimmers could participate. It was really amazing to watch how far so many of them had come and how happy it made them and their families.

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

how much the swimmers learned over the weeks and months of practice.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

reach out more to student athletes that could help as volunteer coaches. A lot of the head volunteers don't actually have experience in the sport so it would also be cool to have inspirational people to "show off" for the kids.

What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...

getting to work one on one with children as well as young adults close to my age.

The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...

incredibly dedicated and loved what they did!

If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...

Reach out to a lot more children that could greatly benefit from this program. They could also build their own facilities.

Ways to make it better...

there was a stronger outreach to volunteers. A way to keep volunteers involved, excited and motivated to give up their Friday nights. It would have been awesome to receive a call or an email during the week to say "We're excited to see you Friday!"

In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...

communication, outreach, and keeping volunteers involved.

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

2006

Role:  Volunteer & I helped as a swim coach in Anne Arundel County.