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With a shared commitment to breaking down barriers and fostering a more inclusive society, the Carroll College Special Olympics Club is transforming lives.
Carroll’s partnership with Special Olympics Montana has sent ripples of inspiration throughout the entire community.
Special Olympics Montana, or SOMT, is a volunteer-driven and sponsor-supported organization whose unified sports and events bring together people with and without intellectual disabilities.
“In Helena, we have many Special Olympics teams and they range from eight years old, that’s the youngest you can be to be a Special Olympics athlete, to adulthood,” said Geri Cutler, a senior biology major from Helena. “There’s no limit on how old you can be to be in Special Olympics. So there are different teams for different age groups.
“There’s one team for the young guys, a high school team, our team, which is the Helena Halos, which is the college team. There are various adult teams around Helena. We all kind of work together to be the larger Special Olympics Tri-County area.”
The Carroll Special Olympics Club, led by Cutler, the club’s president, has worked with SOMT over the past several years to unify both campus and community.
“There are many teams in the Tri-County area, and then specifically, the team that the Carroll College club is affiliated with is the Halos,” added Benjamin Held, a senior biology major from Great Falls, Montana. “And that’s a college-age team that was established just before COVID. Just as a way to bridge the gap for Special Olympics athletes who were having to go from their high school teams to their adult teams, this is kind of like a young adult team.”
In working with SOMT and the Helena Halos, the Carroll Special Olympics Club hosts several events per semester to foster play and laughter among both athletes and volunteers: a quick path to understanding and friendship.
“There’s been quite a few events this go around,” said Kelsyn Lohr, a senior biology major from Shelby, Montana. “We painted pumpkins. That was a blast. Everyone had such a great time. We recently did gingerbread house making and that was really fun. The athletes loved that… And then towards the beginning of this semester, we did a Just Dance night with the athletes, and that rocked.”
Lohr says the big event for this semester was the state basketball, “and everybody had a blast.”
“We also took some athletes to a volleyball game and a football game,” added Cutler. “They really liked going to the football game because they got to watch some of our club members who are football players and they really liked that. We also attended a basketball game and got to go down on the court and get special recognition.”
The volunteers say they get as much enjoyment from the events as the athletes do – maybe more.
“I’m what they call a unified partner, which is a person who participates in events with the athletes, just as a way to kind of help them out and help them maybe participate in sports that they might not be able to do without a unified partner,” said Lohr. “In basketball, we help them get the ball up and down the court and help coach them on the field. Just help them kind of understand the sport better.”
The dedicated leaders devote their time to ensure the Helena Halos events run smoothly.
As vice president and treasurer Held applies for grants and manages funds. He also plans events and serves as a unified partner which he “really enjoys.”
Along with dedicated volunteers, the program also needs sponsors – and funds.
“Some things cost money, some things don’t,” added Held. “We apply to a grant every year called the Youth Innovation Grant that Special Olympics USA offers and you can apply for up to $2,000. I think we’ve got it two years in a row. We’re waiting to hear back on this last cycle.”
Planning events is a collaboration between athletes, the board and the volunteers.
“We as Carroll students brainstorm ideas for events and then present those to our three athlete representatives. And then we usually allow them to choose what they would like to do.”
Not only does the Helena Halos positively affect the athletes involved and those on Carroll’s campus, but the greater Helena community as well.
“I think that [these events have] helped people see what Special Olympics is, what it does, and just kind of how much it means to the athletes,” said Lohr. “The events have helped get the community more involved in activities.”
On Nov. 9-11 Carroll hosted the 2023 State Basketball Tournament in the Physical Education Center.
“We had many different clubs and organizations from Carroll volunteer,” said Held. “It brought the Carroll community and the Helena community together. It was a cool way to incorporate those people who don’t typically volunteer with Special Olympics.
“I think everyone enjoyed all those friendly faces, and the smiles. Just getting to know new people was a big deal not just for the athletes, but also for the students.”
Cutler says about 100 students volunteered at the event. They made sandwiches, served as ushers, organized games and ran first aid stations.
“So I just want to thank the broader Carroll community for rallying together and supporting Special Olympics, because that was amazing.”
Cutler is proud of all the ways Carroll contributes.
“We invite athletes that have virtually no affiliation to Carroll to come to our campus,” said Cutler. “We provide them with supplies to do crafts, supplies to bake, supplies to have fun and do other various crafts. We offer basketball, bowling, track, bocce ball, soccer, all of those sports.”
Another benefit of community outreach is the spread of awareness about Special Olympics.
“Our club has been featured in national CVS-level podcasts,” said Cutler. “So what we do is noticed at a national level which is really cool.”
The program is has also dedicated to raising awareness of Down Syndrome through such programs as a Down Syndrome awareness walk.
Cutler says that the student volunteers spread “joy and awareness” and get equal amounts back.
“It has been one of my favorite parts of Carroll,” said Lohr. “I started freshman year in the spring and I didn’t realize how much it would mean to me after all these years of doing it. You get to surround yourself with some of the happiest, most positive people you will ever meet.”
“Special Olympics club has had a huge impact on me. It has kind of been like my sport,” said Cutler. “I’m not a college athlete, nor am I athletic at all, but it has been my place to get involved on campus. I have met people through Special Olympics and become friends with them who I never probably would have even met on campus anyway, and I’m so thankful to have those people in my life.”
Volunteers help others, and gain life skills along the way.
“I’ve also learned how to be a leader,” says Cutler. “I learned how to interact with people with intellectual disabilities, which is a unique skill to have. It has also really impacted me to be a part of raising awareness of inclusion, not just of people with intellectual disabilities, but of everyone on campus and I just think it’s really meaningful to be a part of that.”
The program is acting locally, but thinking globally.
“A global movement is only as big as the sum of its parts,” said Held. “And we’re a small part. The Carroll community is a small part, and the Halos are a small part, but every small part matters. Just seeing the impact, the joy of athletes on the Halos, and the joy of the unified partners and club members. That’s just us working towards our piece of the puzzle.”
New volunteers are always welcome, of course.
“I just think that everyone should know how rewarding it is to volunteer for Special Olympics,” said Lohr. “It will not only mean a lot to you, but it’ll mean a lot to the athletes that you get to participate with. They changed my life. We don’t have very many meetings and when you do get together to do activities, it’s like an hour, we all have time to spare.”
Cutler invites students to follow the program on Instagram.
“I think that following our Instagram and liking our posts is a really good and easy way to be involved. And then of course they can DM us on Instagram or they can email gcutler@carroll.edu to get involved.”
The Helena Halos will welcome new volunteers with big smiles and grateful hearts. A small commitment of time can have a big impact.
“The Helena Halos athletes love Carroll College,” said Held. “Most of them really, really enjoy participating with the students. The athletes we work with, they’re our age, they’re friendly and they want to get to know more people and they want to have a great time. It’s just an hour or two a week of being so happy and not really having a care in the world.”
