Column:

Students can benefit from volunteering for Special Olympics

By Jacob Houska

Published Nov. 13, 2008

When doctors told the parents of special athletes they probably wouldn't have all the advantages most kids enjoy, they couldn't have been more wrong.

Thanks to people like Joe Buechter and Diane Brimer, who dedicate their lives to making the Special Olympics a success in Missouri, disadvantaged children get many opportunities they would otherwise have been denied.

After working in the banking industry for a while, Buechter jumped at the opportunity to leave a less rewarding job to work for the Special Olympics of Missouri. There are few decisions he's ever made that he's been more pleased with.

"My job is to raise money, but that's not what attracts me to this job," Buechter said. "I love being around the athletes and seeing how much they enjoy it."

And it's really no surprise his favorite part of the job is hanging out with the athletes because the rest of his job can be monotonous and overwhelming.

"It's time consuming and hard doing cold calls asking businesses to sponsor us and going to fraternity and sorority houses asking for support, but in the end it's definitely worth it," Buechter said.

If you ever have any doubt if hard work really is worth it, you should see the look on these kids faces when DeMarre Carroll teaches them how to rebound, or when an All-American wrestler teaches them how to power lift or when they play at halftime of a Division I women's soccer game.

Although these were all events Brimer helped set up, they aren't even what stand out in her mind when she thinks about how much she loves what she does.

She talked about a time when she entered the dorm for all the male athletes to talk to one of the other coaches, and an athlete casually strolled down the hall stark naked. When she yelled at him, he had absolutely no idea what the problem was. He walked away confused, like someone just yelled at him for no reason. It is times like this, Brimer says, that remind her of the innocence of the special athletes that attracted her to the job in the first place.

"I've been an employee or coach for the Special Olympics for 12 years, and maybe the best part of this job is simply helping others to get opportunities they wouldn't get otherwise," Brimer said.

Buechter said when they take the athletes to a town as simple as Blue Springs, a change of scenery can be quite a treat for them.

"For one of the athletes, him going to Blue Springs seemed as exciting as it would be for me if I went to Hawaii," Buechter said.

But regardless of how many good things they have been able to do in the past, none of this is possible without students like you helping in the future. DeMarre Carroll made a legitimate offer to Brimer to be a coach of a Special Olympic basketball team, but however tempting the offer might have been, she had to respectfully decline because she knew firsthand she didn't have nearly enough time.

If the best player on a Division I basketball team can help, why can't you?

"We really need to get students out there for the Polar Bear Plunge," Buechter said, referring to an event in which students jump into Stephens Lake in February. "We like to think our charity events are extremely fun for everyone involved. Even if you are just having fun, you might not even realize how many good people you are helping."