{"id":906,"date":"2026-06-04T04:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=906"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:08:18","slug":"thousands-of-volunteers-help-put-on-special-olympics-hawaii-summer-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=906","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of volunteers help put on Special Olympics Hawaii Summer Games"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; The 2026 Special Olympics Hawaii summer games kick off this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=904\">Covering the Cost: The cost of incarceration and Hawaii\u2019s prison system<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a three-day event to let athletes with intellectual disabilities shine.<\/p>\n<p>Special Olympics Hawaii is in full prep mode for its summer games.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last few years, the three-day event has slowly comeback to full force after the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>This year, all events will be held at the University of Hawaii at Manoa after they held track events at Kaiser High School while the university finished their new on-campus track and field facility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow we can put the full event back to the University of Hawaii,\u201d Special Olympics Hawaii president Dan Epstein said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got track and field, swimming and powerlifting happening at UH, we\u2019ve also got softball happening at UH and also at Sand Island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A chance for the athletes to compete on the same surfaces as the State\u2019s only Division I athletics program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have fantastic facilities, being on a college campus our athletes feel like, hey, we\u2019re being acknowledged as athletes,\u201d Epstein said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been training for months for this event, so getting to use those facilities, they really feel like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s a weekend to celebrate Hawaii\u2019s amazing athletes behind the scenes, it\u2019s an entire village of coaches and volunteers that helps make these games possible.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=902\">Honolulu man charged with threatening Michigan governor, capitol<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo without our volunteers, nobody in this office can do their job,\u201d volunteer coordinator Dallas Jenkins said. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge job and it\u2019s all just from the goodness of people\u2019s hearts and so it\u2019s it\u2019s really amazing to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Special Olympics Hawaii anticipates about 2,000 volunteers for the summer games alone. That\u2019s on top of the year-round volunteer coaches and staff for the individual teams.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a weekend of inclusion that most volunteers say is the most memorable part of the experience.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s because they get that connection and the joy,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cThe joy that you see on the athlete\u2019s face, just giving them a high five when you walk past is like everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Organizers hope that feeling of inclusion and acceptance goes beyond the summer games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany times after the weekend is over when you step off campus, then they\u2019re looked at as somebody with a disability and not necessarily given that same level of respect or appreciation,\u201d Epstein said. \u201cSo really our goal is and what our volunteers help us do is really carry that bubble of inclusion beyond Special Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=900\">Bystander video shows damage after concrete falls at Ala Moana Center<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Opening Ceremonies are set for Friday at UH\u2019s Les Murakami Stadium.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Olympics Hawaii anticipates about 2,000 volunteers for the summer games alone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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