Special Olympics Nippon

Beginning of the Special Olympics

The Special Olympics began in 1962 when Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, late President Kennedy's sister, opened the garden of her home to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for day camps.

In 1968, the U.S. National Championships were held in Chicago, followed by the Summer World Championships, and from 1977, the Winter World Championships, which are now held every four years like the Olympics.

Currently, approximately 5.7 million athletes and 1.1 million volunteers are participating in activities in more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

Special Olympics

It is an international sports organization that supports the participation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the society by providing them with daily sports training and competitions throughout the year as a place to present the results of their training.
The activities of the Special Olympics are supported by many volunteers.

ThreeBond's connection to the Special Olympics

Our first encounter with the Special Olympics Nippon was during winter in 2004.
In preparation for the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, we offered our Hakuba recreational facility as a place for the "Believe" film crew, which is made up entirely of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to practice filming.

This led us to learn about the activities of the Special Olympics, and our employees began to participate in the volunteer activities.
Gradually, the activities spread, and the entire company began to support the activities of the Special Olympics Nippon by providing facilities, donating support funds, encouraging employees to participate in volunteer activities, and holding charity events.

In the sports volunteer activities (floor hockey), the number of participants has gradually increased and some employees have started to become certified coaches.

Furthermore, many employees have participated in the "2010 5th Special Olympics Nippon Summer National Games in Osaka" and "2012 5th Special Olympics Nippon Winter National Games in Fukushima" as event staff. Since 2017, we are also supporting the activities as a premium sponsor. Employees from domestic as well as overseas offices participated in the Special Olympics Nippon Online Marathon 2020. We will continue our proactive support for the activities.