By: Sis. Rebecca Ross, Grand Rep to Kansas

On Saturday May 9, 2015 Rainbow girls Caelyn Mansfield, Ashley Johnston, Autumn Zimmerman, and I attended the Special Olympics Allegheny County Summer Games held at Baldwin High School!

The Special Olympics Club is dedicated to “promoting inclusion and awareness of all individuals with all types of disabilities.” More than 400 Special Olympics athletes from more than 17 training sites in Allegheny County met at the high school for track & field events, bocce, golf putting, weightlifting and more. We helped the local group of the Humanitarian Foundation of the Grottos of North America at their booth. They are a nonprofit organization that brings “Special Smiles” to children with special needs by providing them much-needed dental care. The program helps cover the costs of dental treatment for children with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other related neuromuscular disorders, those with mental retardation, and organ transplant recipients.

We passed out bags full of toothbrushes, bottles, informational packets, and other goodies to the athletes while speaking about the importance of dental care. The day was full of music, dancing, and spreading awareness. It was a beautiful day to serve the community.

If you are interested and would like to learn more about the Humanitarian Foundation of the Grottos of North America, please go to their website at http://www.hfgrotto.org/ and don’t forget to help children receive smiles with this year’s charity project, Operation Smile!