Special Olympics D.C. Welcomes New CEO, Nicole Preston

Nicole Preston comes to Special Olympics, DC with nearly thirty years of experience in corporate and non-profit organizations both in the U.S. and abroad. As Managing Director of National Campaign Development with the American Diabetes Association, she led the growth of the Tour de Cure fundraising cycling events from 20,000 to more than 61,000 participants raising over $29 million. Prior to that, Nicole managed large-scale charity events for several charitable organizations including the AIDSRide cycling events and 3-Day Breast Cancer walks, and was instrumental in developing the structure and strategies that led to exponential growth. In the corporate arena, she began her career with Hewlett-Packard in San Jose, California, and then held several positions in management and finance in Fortune 100 corporations including the opening team of Euro Disney in Paris, France. She is a lifelong athlete who has competed in many sports, and continues to be an avid cyclist and tennis player.

New SODC President and CEO, Nicole Preston with SODC Board Chair, Jackie Duke

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This Special Needs Girl Asked A Popular Boy to Prom. How He Responded Left Her in Tears

The prom is an exciting time for high school students, when they get to dress up and have a glamorous night out. For 17 year old Destiny McLemore, it was the night she had always dreamed of. With the help of her mom Angie, she asked her dream date Grant Kelley to her special needs prom.

Destiny is a junior at Anderson high school, and wanted to ask the popular boy named Grant to be her date. So she posted of Facebook a picture of herself holding a sign saying ‘Grant Kelley will you go to my special needs prom with me?’ Grant shared the post, and replied saying ‘I would love to go to prom with you Destiny’ and he added two heart emojis.

To read more on this story, click here: This Special Needs Girl Asked A Popular Boy To Prom. How He Responded Left Her In Tears

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Vacation! Another great year in Sandbridge!

Another great year in Sandbridge!

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Just Because I’m Disabled Doesn’t Mean I’m Invisible

This is powerful, please share!

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Bread for the City: Donate $25 in Honor of Dr. Randi’s 25 Years of Service to the District!

The best recognition you can give in support of her 25th anniversary is a donation to Dr. Randi’s beloved medical clinic. Will you give $25 in honor of her 25 years of committed service to the District? 

To donate, click here: DONATE 

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“Me Before You” Could be an Invitation to Suicide

“Live Boldly! Live Well! Just Live!” shout the ads for the tear-jerking melodrama “Me Before You,” which is based on the best-selling novel by Jojo Moyes. But that’s not the message of the movie, not by a long shot.

Better Dead than Disabled is more like it.

Will Traynor, the wildly rich and incredibly handsome hero, who has quadriplegia as the result of an accident, has decided to end his life at age 35. Even though he’s fallen in love with Louisa Clark, his relentlessly charming paid companion, he decides that his life’s not worth living because it can never be the same as it was before the accident that paralyzed him.

So sympathetically is his decision portrayed in the film, so persuasive are his arguments in favor of assisted suicide to his family and Louisa, that I could almost feel the audience, comprised almost exclusively of young women sobbing into wads of Kleenex, nodding their heads in agreement.

To read more on this story, click here: “Me Before You” Could be an Invitation to Suicide

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