Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Backyard Camp That Changed the World

Special Olympics grew out of a summer day camp in a Maryland backyard.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s sister Rosemary had an intellectual disability, and Eunice saw how often people like her were hidden away and denied the chance to play. In June 1962 she opened a summer day camp, Camp Shriver, at her home in Maryland, where children with intellectual disabilities could swim, ride horses and play games, coached by high school and college volunteers.

From camp to movement

Through the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, she supported similar camps across the country. In July 1968, about 1,000 athletes from the United States and Canada competed at the first International Special Olympics Summer Games at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Legacy

Shriver spent the rest of her life advocating for research, better care and full rights for people with intellectual disabilities. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 and died in 2009. Her idea, that inclusion begins when people are given the chance to take part, still guides the movement.

Part of the Boston Made Reader’s special collection Courage, Conscience & Service. Written for the Reader and free to read here.