Donation has lasting effect on Special Olympics one year after NBA All-Star event

INDIANAPOLIS — The Special Olympics of Indiana has been busy in the year since the NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.

The glitz and glam of the center of the NBA universe settling down in Indy ended with a win for the Eastern Conference All-Star team over the Western Conference stars.

This also meant the Special Olympics walked away with an even bigger donation. Special Olympics President and CEO Jeff Mohler said they ended up taking home nearly $450,000.

”We were able to get three things off the ground because of what happened a year ago for us,” Mohler said.

Mohler said the money helped them add to their strategic plan.

”It was on our radar, but it probably would’ve taken us a few more years to find the funding necessary to do that,” Mohler said.

The first program is called “Campaign for Coaches.” It’s a series of promotions and social media campaigns to try and attract more volunteers to coach Special Olympics.

”By growing the number of volunteers and number of coaches we have at the local level, we feel strongly we’ll be able to serve more athletes,” said Mohler.

The second program is “Train 4 Life.”

”It’s a really intense workout program,” Mohler said. “Very similar to what you would see in CrossFit or any of those hardcore gyms.”

Mohler said athletes are trained to do workouts at home, too, and there are virtual calls every other week to talk about mental health, nutrition and more.

”We train the gym personnel and their coaches on how to work with people with intellectual disabilities and how to work with people with disabilities, in general,” Mohler said.

The Special Olympics of Indiana has also been able to start a “Young Athletes” program. It helps children 2-7-years-old learn fitness and sports.

”Get them ready for physical activity, if they are behind in certain metrics in their advancement, their development,” Mohler said. “We can try and bridge that gap.”

Mohler said this is a program that has proved effective in other parts of the country, but Special Olympics hadn’t had the resources to bring it to the Hoosier state, yet.

”What we see though is significant advancement in their motor skill development,” Mohler said.

Mohler said the NBA donation will have an impact for years to come, something they can’t put a price tag on.

”In all, we hope to be touching 7,500 people through the two programs in the next five years,” Mohler said.

If you’re interested in becoming a coach with the Special Olympics of Indiana, you can find more information on its website.