Michael Phelps, Ashley Tisdale, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stevie Wonder, Avril Lavigne, Jackie Chan, Yao Ming, Muhammad Ali, Brooklyn Decker. What do all of these celebrities have in common?

They are all participants of the Special Olympics Organization. Founded by John F. Kennedy’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the 1960s, the Special Olympics organization changes the lives of millions around the world every year.

The Special Olympics club at SMCHS dedicates all of their time to plan and execute events in order to make them the best days of the athletes’ lives. Currently, the club is preparing for their upcoming events on Nov. 1 for the Fall Regional Games in Fountain Valley and on Nov. 15 for the Basketball Games.

“Once you get past that image and that stereotype, you can see that the athletes are amazing and are capable of so many things,” said senior Kristen Mahoney, co-president of the Special Olympics club. “That’s what empowers me to try my best and to just be a better person for them.”

The club works to give special athletes the ability to play sports and engage in athletic competition, which they otherwise would never have been able to be involved in. It also provides a learning environment for SMCHS students, to help them accept people with disabilities with open wings.

“My first time doing Special Olympics was my sophomore year, with my athlete, Kyle,” said senior Nicole Buechler, co-president of the Special Olympics club. “I didn’t know what to do at first because he was not all mentally there, but once I got to know him I realized that he is so nice and is aware of everything around of him.”

The club organizes several on-campus events such as the sophomore Lumin Christi project and the swim Special Olympics. The events provide students with the chance to interact with the special athletes on a personal level and to get to know their personalities instead of their disabilities.

“Everyone judges other people, and everyone is so nervous during Special Olympics,” Buechler said. “They do not know what to do around someone with disabilities, but you just have to be yourself. I can treat Kyle like every other friend.”

The club emphasizes that the athletes can do anything that an average can do if they set their mind to accomplishing it. Members of the club encourage the athletes to persevere throughout the games, which is reflected in the athlete pledge of Special Olympics, “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

“All I wanted to do during the Special Olympics day was have fun with Kyle,” Buechler said. “They were playing music and Kyle and I started to dance, and then other people began to dance with us and just have a great time. It filled me with love and compassion and just to see everyone interact together was so inspiration and moving.”

These athletes always give in their all at these competitions. They train for months before the games, doing exercises like running, weights and lunges.

“Just because the person has a disability, doesn’t mean they have to treat them different,” Buechler said. “Sometimes people talk down to them or treat them like they do not know what is going on, but Kyle opened my eyes to the fact that they are just like us.”

The Special Olympics club is able to spread love and compassion to people with disabilities by not focusing on their ‘special’ needs, but rather their personalities.

“The idea is that everyone has everyone is treated equally,” Buechler said. “Everyone should be treated equally even beyond this one day event. It should be going on in everyone’s day to day life.”