Supporting People with Disabilities

(Dustin) Growing up, I was moved home to home, family member to family member. Nobody knew how to support me, because of my cleft palate and my intellectual disability. I would always get laughed at because of the way I talked. I had no self-esteem. I’d be getting bullied every single day, getting my lunch money stolen, I was getting my backpack stolen and shredded with razor blades. I had either two choices, either start fighting against these bullies, or go home and cry myself to sleep every single night. At the age of 7, I got involved in the Lakewood youth sports program, and that’s when I first met Coach Chuck who’s been not just a friend but a mentor, a role model, and a father figure to me.

(Coach Chuck) How’s it going?

(Dustin) It’s going good, how are you?

(Coach Chuck) Good to see you!

(Dustin) Chuck approached me about joining Special Olympics; I’m like, what is it, who is it for, how’s it going to make a difference in my life?

(Coach Chuck) He started meeting the other athletes and participants in the program and he hit off with like two or three of them right away.

(Dustin) Me not having that family support system and all that growing up, that became my family, my support system.

(Coach Chuck) That was the first step in what has transpired for Dustin, just an amazing career thus far.

(Dustin) I became a fulltime employee for Special Olympics Southern California in 2015. We’re all coming together for one common goal: to make a change in the life of the athletes we serve.

(Dustin) Let’s say that you were going to speak at A World of Difference about how Special Olympics made a world of difference in your life. Right now, I mentor multiple athletes depending on what their needs are at the time. Let me win.

(Marco) Let me win.

(Dustin) But if I cannot win.

(Marco) But if I cannot win.

(Dustin) Let me be brave in the attempt.

(Marco) Let me be brave in the attempt.

(Dustin) Perfect!

Basically, the one thing I want everyone to take away from this is really to see the ability in our athletes and not the disability.

Alright let’s go!

It’s important to me to make the guys I coach into leaders, in their lives on and off the court, because I know how much it made a profound impact on my life.

[move around guys, move around, there you go, keep going.]

Warriors on three, ready? 1.. 2..3…Warriors!

From being a shy young kid, being bullied, to working full time for Special Olympics Southern California, to being an ESPN Analyst, live in front of millions of people around the world, is a miracle for me.

My goal is to just share my story.

All it is is you having the heart and the courage to dream big and never letting anything get in your way and stop you.

If something comes up in your way and they tell you “you can’t do it,” prove them wrong by just saying two words, “watch me.”

(Music playing)

[Tim Shriver] Let’s remember that the world has old prejudices.

[Tim Shriver] There are a billion people on earth with disabilities, and they have almost all been the victims of the most outrageous discrimination.

[Tim Shriver] These athletes come here to prove that you can rise to the top of the greatest mountains in the world, and ski down them no matter what people tell you at birth, no matter what people tell you in school.

[Mary Davis] They are able to demonstrate the skills and the talent that make them very capable people.

(Cheers)

[Athlete] I can’t believe I’m here. I’m speechless.

[Mary Laskowski] It’s a wonderful, wonderful moment.

[Andrea O’Neil] It’s been so positive, and I’m just so proud of this guy. So proud. [Mary Davis] Special Olympics, as a movement, could never do everything itself.

[Tim Shriver] Bank of America has invested in games, they’ve invested in leadership, they’ve invested in our athletes.

[Kelly Fredrickson] Special Olympics and Bank of America have had a relationship for thirty plus years. We share their values. Diversity and inclusion is core to who we are. As a company, we have a responsibility, and part of that responsibility is creating a more inclusive world for everybody.

(Cheers)

[Brightfield Shadi] Me being a leader, it will be a great honor and opportunity to change the lives of people living with Intellectual Disability.

[Jason Geischen] People should put down limits because there are no limits, and we all have potential. We should pick up hope because we can do anything we set our minds to.

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IN MARCH, OVER 2,700 ATHLETES FROM 107 COUNTRIES WILL COMPETE FOR GOLD AT THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD WINTER GAMES IN AUSTRIA.

CHRIS O’NEIL WILL BE ONE OF THEM.

SUPER: Meghan O’Neil, Chris’ Sister

Meghan O’Neil: Sometimes when I’m struggling I look at what Chris has to go through. He is so motivated and determined to be more than somebody with a disability.

SUPER: Andrea O’Neil, Chris’ Mom

Andrea O’Neil: Chris has Mosaic Trisomy 8 Syndrome so it just takes Chris a little bit longer sometimes to process information, but he usually moves right along. There were times when he was growing up it was a struggle. People would give him a hard time, but he’s coming into his own.

SUPER: Chris O’Neil, Special Olympics USA Athlete

Chris O’Neil: Special Olympics is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. Meeting people and just the competition part – I enjoy the most.

Andrea O’Neil: Look at you. This is you getting the medal on the podium. I think it’s a gold.

Chris O’Neil: Yeah. I will never forget that.

Andrea O’Neil: I see a lot coming out recently. Part of it’s Special Olympics. Part of it’s working at the hospital I think as well. He works at Lowell General. He’s been there about 4 years. He works five days a week. People are very welcoming.

Chris O’Neil: Hey Lisa.

Nurse: How’s your day going?

Chris O’Neil: So far, so good.

Meghan O’Neil: I think he’s just got a lot of determination to be the best he can be and it obviously shows how much progress he’s made, especially in skiing.

Andrea O’Neil: He loves to ski. When they were younger we’d all go skiing together.

Meghan O’Neil: At one point in time I’m pretty sure I was faster than him, but at this point in time there’s no way I could catch up to him. He’s definitely learned a lot from his coaches.

Bob Russel (coach): Lean forward. You got to bend.

Chris O’Neil: When my coaches say, “You could do a little better, I know you can.” And I say, “You know what? I know I could too.”

Bob Russell: Put your skis on the edge like this. Ok?

Chris O’Neil: Maybe I didn’t tuck as good or I didn’t bend as far down. So I got to do those two things to get a faster time.

SUPER: Bob Russell, Coach, Nashoba Shooting Stars

Bob Russell: He’s out there working hard and he comes with a great attitude. There couldn’t be a better person to go to Austria than him.

SUPER: Riley O’Keefe, Chris’ Best Friend

Riley O’Keefe: When I found out Chris was going to compete in Austria for the Winter Games, I sobbed I was so happy for him.

Andrea O’Neil: Guess what Chris?

Riley O’Keefe: He sends me a video that his mother had taken and I got goosebumps.

Andrea O’Neil: He didn’t know. So he was sitting on the couch. There was a promo for the World Games.

Chris O’Neil: My sister gave me the card that told me that I’d been picked.

Off-screen voice: You’re on the United States Olympic team.

Chris O’Neil: Oh my gosh.

Meghan O’Neil: You did it. You made it all the way here, Chris!

Chris O’Neil: Probably one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Andrea O’Neil: We’re all going now. All of his family members are going…his siblings...we’re all going to be there to cheer him on.

Chris O’Neil: To me, about going there – it’s more of a once in a lifetime experience. It just feels like I know I can do it and it’s something I really enjoy. It makes me feel free.

Andrea O’Neil: I’m so proud of him. I’m just very proud…happy for him.

GRAPHIC: #PICKUPHOPE

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Bank of America | Special Olympics

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Mark Hogan: There’s a difference between a job and a career. A job, you just, you know you’re dreading work, and a career, you wake up and, oh man, you know, you wake up and it’s a good day.

SUPER: Mark Feinour, Executive Director, Support Services, Bank of America

Mark Feinour: Support Services is a fulfillment operation within Bank of America. We support every major line of business within the enterprise, and everything that we touch effects the customer.

Within the support services organization, we have 350 employees, of those employees, about 300 have intellectual disabilities.

My teammates are the most loyal, most dedicated, most proud employees that Bank of America has.

SUPER: Alana Drablos, Support Services Employee

Alana Drablos: We work as a team, we help each other out.

SUPER: Mark Hogan, Support Services Employee

Mark Hogan: It’s fun everyday, cuz you know, we come in and we have a morning huddle, every body’s fired up and ready to work.

SUPER: Latricia Saucier, Support Services Employee

Latricia Saucier: I love the environment, because the people are awesome. Basically we’re like family.

Unnamed employee: Wanna raise your hand if you’ve been here 15 years?

Mark Feinour: Support services has been here for 25 years, and the stereotype that we’ve had to overcome has always been, “oh it’s a nice thing to do”, “it’s a charity for the communities that we’re in.” That could not be further from the truth.

I will compete against any other print shop, fulfillment house/warehouse operation in the country, and we will blow them away with our numbers.

What we’re doing makes business sense, we just happen to have a different talent pool that we use, and more companies unfortunately haven’t realized that yet.

The thing that makes me the most proud is being able to see employees come in and be promoted, be able to buy a house, to get married, to start a family. I get chills when I talk about it.

Unnamed employee: A lot of us here, didn’t have opportunities before we got here, so we take a lot of pride in our job.

Latricia Saucier: It shows that there are really no limitations. We can all do things that people never thought we could.