Eunice Kennedy

Shriver
 Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Was the fifth of nine children Joseph
and Rose Kennedy

She received a Bachelors of Arts in

sociology

She worked for the state department

and then started working in social
work. Then in 1957 she took over her
fathers foundation

Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation, have

two major objectives: to seek the
prevention of intellectual disabilities
by identifying its causes and to
improve the means by which society
deals with citizens who have
intellectual disabilities.
 Eunice Kennedy Shriver
In 1984 President Reagan
awarded Shriver the
Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the nations
highest civilian award for
her work on behalf of
persons with disabilities.

In 2005 she was honored

for her work with Special
Olympics as one of the
recipients of a sidewalk
medallion on The Extra Mile
Point of Light Pathway in
Washington D.C
 Background Story
Out of the 9 siblings Eunice had a sibling,
Rosemary with a mild intellectual impairment.
Her disability worsened after she had a
lobotomy, which was meant to help her.
afterwards she spent most of her life in private
and passed away in 2005. Eunice was very close
to her and made intellectual disabilities a
constant cause in her life and in others.
 Special Olympics
The mission of Special Olympics is to provide
year-round sports training and athletic
competition in a variety of Olympic type sports
for children and adults with intellectual
disabilities. This give them the continuing
opportunities to develop physical fitness,
demonstrate courage, experience joy and
participate in sharing gifts, skills and friendship
with their families, other Special Olympics
athletes and the community.
 Eunice Shriver
Leadership style
Under her leadership she helped achieve many
significant advances, including The Presidents
Committee on mental Retardation in 1961

Development of the National Institute for Child

Health and Human Development 1962

The establishment of Special Olympics 1968

 Vision
Her work on behalf of the mentally disabled that
commands our remembrance and interest. She
communicated a her visions for the Special Olympics,
growing her efforts from a single backyard camp to a
worldwide movement
It was noted that she was not the best administrator
but she had a mature and clear vision for the Special
Olympics. She thought that through competition it
could help those with disabilities, their families and
communities achieve
a sense of joy and meaning in life
 Culture
Special Olympics has grown from just 1,000 athletes
at the first official Games in 1968 to over 3 million
today, and is ranked as the most credible
charity/nonprofit in America
Her name and celebrity helped her cause
enormously and the commitment that came with the
Kennedy affinity for public service
She created a culture of people to be able to define
our the purpose as well as educate the world about
the cause of serving individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities.
 Collaboration
Eunice knew how important it was to collaborate with everyone and
anyone that would get help spread the word of her cause.

Eunice began by using funds from the Kennedy Foundation (started by

her father, Joseph, and mother, Rose) to create programs for the
intellectually disabled.

Then she instituted Camp Shriver and helped finance a dozen or so other
such camps around the country. One day in 1967 she listened to a plan
from the Chicago parks and recreation department to hold a track meet
for the city's kids with intellectual disabilities--Anne Burke, then a teacher
in the Parks system, now an Illinois Supreme Court judge, was the
moving force behind the idea--and turned on the Kennedy magic,
providing $25,000 in funding and insisting that kids from all over the
country be involved. And with the Games in Chicago in 1968, the
movement was on.