JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With 70,000 athletes across the Sunshine State, the Florida Special Olympics looks to empower each and every one of those athletes and raise money through the “Race for Inclusion,” happening in events from Key West to Pensacola and here in downtown Jacksonville.
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“Special Olympics is all about providing the platform where they can showcase their abilities and their skills,” explained Special Olympics Florida CEO Kelly Wheelock.
The 5k race and event mean so much to the Special Olympic athletes like Tori Bilyk-Seguine.
“It makes me feel really good and I’m proud of them and proud of myself,” Tori told Action News Jax with a smile at Saturday’s race.
However, it’s also an important cause to the racers who show out to show their support, like Keith Bohlin, who finished first place this year running the 5k in just under 21 minutes.
“It’s a great race. I mean the athletes out here, you can just tell there’s great energy around. It really just pushed you through the course and it’s just a fun run to be out here,” said Keith.
While every runner who crossed the finish line Saturday did so in the name of inclusion, every dollar raised goes towards funding Special Olympics Florida events and even paying for athletes’ medical costs.
“If they need it, we provide prescription glasses, we provide hearing aids, we provide podiatric specialized orthotics, so there’s so much we do for health care,” Wheelock told Action News. “We do over 10,000 health exams annually for all of our athletes too.”
Those interested in donating to the cause can do so by clicking here.
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