asheville | Buncombe County Special Olympics

The Young Athletes Program (YAP) is an inclusive program for children ages 2-7 with or without intellectual disabilities. The focus is on fun activities that are important to mental and physical growth. Activities will aid in the development of social and motor skills for children within this age range. This program also helps in bridging the gap between children with and without intellectual disabilities by integrating them at a young age and teaching acceptance for all.

The YAP curriculum provides an outlet for physical activity and socialization in a format that engages strengths, differences, inclusion, and collective accomplishment. Unlike many similar programs, YAP is offered free of charge to all participants.

Fall 2016 YAP will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:15pm – 7:15pm starting on October 26th. The will be held at the Jewish Community Center located at 236 Charlotte Street, Asheville 28801. The room will be held in the gym on the second floor and there is an elevator available for use.

In order to participate, register your athlete online with our athlete registration form and complete Young Athlete Registration Form (you can bring it to your first session or e-mail it to special.olympics@buncombecounty.org). Call 828.250.4265 or e-mail special.olympics@buncombecounty.org for more information.

Buncombe County Special Olympics is a volunteer-driven, donation-funded program designed to create sporting opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. We focus on inclusionary programming that builds connections between our athletes and the community. We don’t have staff members and we don’t pay for office space, the money donated to the program goes straight to creating opportunities for the athletes.

All this being said, fundraising is difficult for us. We often have to ask the same volunteers who coach and transport athletes to turn around and devote even more time to the program to help us run fundraisers. We want to focus more time on our athletes and less on the hustle, so we’re trying to get creative.

We’re asking Asheville coffee shops to help us by donating a penny from each cup of coffee they sell during the month of August.

We want to create a fundraiser that generates the largest amount of community support possible. While money will always help us alleviate our fundraising needs, this concept is more about increasing awareness of our local Special Olympics program. Buncombe County Special Olympics needs community support in order for us to thrive and support our athletes. We view each cup sold as a new connection.

Just like any sports team, we want the support of our hometown.

Our goal is to get as many Asheville coffee shops invested as possible. We’ll be listing participating locations with a map on our website. We’re hoping to generate a new community support and to show the power of collective advocacy. We’ll also work to create business linkages and customer drive to participating businesses through social media.

Enroll your business by calling 828.250.4265 or e-mailing special.olympics@buncombecounty.org.