Hasbro has been a partner of Special Olympics and the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® program since 2016, supporting the expansion of inclusive school programming in the United States (Washington, Rhode Island, Florida, California) and globally (Canada, India, Great Britain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia).
Hasbro is proud to support the advancement of global youth opportunities and Unified Schools programs as part of its BE FEARLESS BE KIND philanthropic initiative. BE FEARLESS BE KIND is designed to inspire and empower kids to have empathy, compassion and courage to stand up for others and be inclusive throughout their lives.
Special Olympics Unified Schools and Unified Champion Schools promote social inclusion by bringing together young people with and without intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools offers a three-component model of Special Olympics Unified Sports®, inclusive youth leadership, and whole school engagement to provide a positive school climate. At its core, this Unified Schools strategy is about unifying all students-with and without disabilities using sports as a catalyst for social inclusion and attitude and behavior change.
Through BE FEARLESS BE KIND, Hasbro is educating, activating and celebrating inclusive youth as role models in their community. This year, they are sponsoring 5 Unified Champion School Banner Presentations to celebrate youth and communities that have reached the highest levels of inclusion. A Special Olympics Unified Champion School receiving national banner recognition is one that has met ten standards of excellence. These standards were developed by a national panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community.
Please watch this video to see why Hasbro is committed to inclusion for youth of all abilities and how they are supporting the Unified Generation.
Three million young people participate in 6,500 Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® across the US with support from the US Office of Special Education Programs at the US Department of Education. These young people make up the Unified Generation. They are taking personal ownership within their schools and communities to ensure that everyone has the right to play, learn and live together through shared leadership opportunities of students with and without intellectual disabilities. To learn more about the Unified Generation, visit: www.generationunified.org/