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Timothy Shriver: "I Wanted to Make Special Olympics into a School of the Heart"

Season 6 Episode 602
Aired on 11/23/2014 | CC
In the '60s, a time when the intellectually disabled were often marginalized, Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded a sporting event where athletes of all abilities would be given an equal chance to succeed. The first Special Olympics took place in 1968 at Chicago's Soldier Field. Since then, the organization has spread across the world, with 4.4 million athletes participating in as many as 80,000 competitions every year.

Today, Eunice's son Timothy Shriver continues his mother's legacy as chairman of the Special Olympics. At first, Timothy says, he was hesitant to assume the role, but he now admits that he is living his calling. "I wanted to make Special Olympics into a school of the heart," he says. "And I wanted to share that story because I felt like it had given that to me. It had given me back my heart."

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