In honor of the 2023 6th Annual Sponge Candy 5K partnership with Special Olympics New York, we would love to share a list of 10 Special Olympics New York Fun Facts. 

Special Olympics New York Fun Facts: 

1. Special Olympics New York offers 22 Olympics-style individual and team sports. 
2. We have nine regions throughout the state and seven regional offices. 
3. We have three sport seasons running year-round, each culminating in a huge State Games hosted by different cities throughout New York State. 
4. We currently serve more than 42,000 athletes throughout the state. 
5. We partner with more than 200 New York high schools to provide Unified Sports, where student-athletes with and without disabilities compete on the same teams. 50 of those schools are right here in WNY! 
6. Thanks to our donations and fundraising efforts, our athletes and their families never pay anything to train or compete. 
7. Every athlete competes for at least eight weeks with a certified coach before competing. After the local level, Athletes can continue to Regional, then State then USA Games, and even World Games!
8. Special Olympics New York events aren't just every few years—our athletes are training and competing every year, all year! We host 20 competitions a year in WNY! 
9. If there's not enough snow on the ground, our snowshoe athletes often train on the sand. 
10. Sponsoring one athlete per sport costs approximately $500 per year!

The “Sponge Candy 5K” has become a tradition for our community, allowing residents, volunteers, and race participants to enjoy a fun-filled day while giving back to non-profits. 

The Special Olympics was nominated and chosen by team members at Platter’s Chocolate Factory. Thank you, Ava, Meghan, and Phil! Each of them volunteered with Special Olympics and support the mission: 

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, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.