SILVERDALE – Local law enforcement personnel donated their off-duty time at the Silverdale Red Robin Restaurant to serve in an entirely different role – as table waiters – during the “Tip-A-Cop” fundraiser for the Special Olympics Oct. 24.
More than $5,200 was raised through customer tips, from sales of Special Olympics memorabilia and from outright donations from the general public, including 16 donations over $100 each. Of note was a $250 donation made by the Kitsap Firefighter’s Benevolent Fund.
Outside the restaurant, Bremerton police and Poulsbo police K-9 teams, a static sheriff’s motorcycle display and a mock jail were on display.
Participating personnel included sheriff’s corrections officers, patrol deputies, support specialists, Citizens on Patrol volunteers and explorer cadets with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. Officers from Bainbridge Island Police Department, Bremerton Police Department, Port Orchard Police Department, Poulsbo Police Department and Special Olympians and Special Olympics Washington volunteers also took part.
Special Olympics Washington provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sporting events for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. It provides them with continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other athletes and the community.
Locally, the sheriff’s office supported just such an endeavor during the Special Olympics Washington Southwest Regional Bowling Tournament Nov. 1 at All Star Bowling Lanes in Silverdale.
More than 400 Special Olympian athletes competed in divisions organized by age, skill level and category: ramp bowlers, singles, doubles, teams, unified doubles and unified teams.
Special Olympian bowlers represented the South Kitsap Hi-Rollers, Bremerton Kitsap Athletic Team, Jefferson County Warriors, Bainbridge Island Eagles and the Clallam County Orcas Special Olympics Teams.
Later this month Special Olympics Washington starts basketball competition which will culminate in an area tournament to be held at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds Jan. 31.
By participating in sports, physical fitness and healthcare educational programs, Special Olympics athletes increase their self-confidence and social skills, improve physical motor skills and have better success in leading productive and independent lives.
More than 9,500 athletes compete in Special Olympics Washington, and some 1.7 million athletes compete in Special Olympics programs in more than 150 countries. The oath of the Special Olympics athletes says it all: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
For further information about Special Olympics Washington: http://www.sowa.org
– Edited by Chris Tucker.
A squad of Special Olympians take a break from competition for a photo opportunity with Kitsap County Sheriff Gary Simpson during the Special Olympics Southwest Regional Bowling Tournament held Nov. 1 at All Star Lanes in Silverdale.
