A special gathering attended by Special Olympics athletes is held at the Shanghai Amway Experience Center
Special Olympics athletes from the US visit Shanghai
SHANGHAI, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A special gathering was held at the Shanghai Amway Experience Center on the afternoon of December 6, 2017. At the invitation of Special Olympics, East Asia, a number of special guests attended the event, including Special Olympics North Carolina athletes as well as partners of and teachers from Special Olympics Unified Schools. In addition, attendees also included special needs children from Sunshine Home in Shanghai's Huaihai Middle Road Community. Accompanied by several volunteers, the special guests spent an enjoyable time together and jointly completed an oil painting.
To promote the unified exchanges between China and the US, in 2014, Special Olympics, East Asia filed a proposal with the Chinese and US governments to launch a Sino-American youth exchange program. During the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, Special Olympics, East Asia selected 25 college students from Shanghai to participate in the exchange event held in the US as part of the program. As the sponsor of the event, Amway also sent an employee delegation represented by Xu Chuang, a former Special Olympics Global Messenger, to the event. With the support of Amway, Xu Chuang realized his dream of running along the beach in Santa Monica, California just as Forrest Gump did in the classic film. In 2016, Special Olympics, East Asia organized a group of students from the China Special Olympics Unified Youth Exchange School who visited the US, engaged with local student leaders and took part in local Special Olympics events. The visit to China by the group of North Carolina Special Olympics athletes is not only a ritual return visit, but also another milestone in further promoting communication between the two countries and driving the development of their respective Special Olympics efforts.
During the visit, Special Olympics athletes from the US traveled to three cities - Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai. The busy schedule, arranged by the organizer, included a visit to the Shanghai Amway Experience Center, which has had a 12-year relationship with Special Olympics. As early as 2005, following Shanghai's successful bid to host the Special Olympics, Amway provided capital support and connected Shanghai's special schools and Sunshine Home with volunteers who actively engaged in fostering the growth and development of the special needs youths over the long term. The effort is now in its 12th year. During the 2017 Shanghai Special Olympics, volunteers from Amway assisted in the management of the event both in and outside the various venues. Since 2014, Amway has offered support to the Sunshine Unified Run International Invitation Tournament. One event, 2016 Amway Nutrilite Health and Charitable Jogging, achieved the honor of being the largest Special Olympics unified running event ever staged worldwide. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Shanghai Special Olympics. The Amway volunteers attended a series of gatherings celebrating the milestone.
The events, which brought joy to the many special attendees, all passed too quickly. Yet, the memory of the events will not be forgotten as the jointly completed oil painting will be handed to the visitors, who will bring it to the US for placement in the Special Olympics permanent collection. The oil painting will not only serve as a testament to the fruitful exchanges between the two countries and to the success of the Special Olympics events, but also act as a positive message of what the future can bring.
SOURCE Amway China Co., Ltd.
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