EKS Day: It’s Time to Act

On Saturday, September 25, 2010, people around the globe will celebrate EKS Day, named in honor of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a long-time champion for people with intellectual disabilities. As founder and honorary chairperson of Special Olympics and executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, Shriver was a leader in the struggle to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Under her leadership, the Foundation’s mission was twofold: to search for ways to prevent intellectual disabilities by identifying its causes and to improve the means by which society deals with these citizens. Over the course of more than three decades, Shriver accomplished many things, but she is most remembered for the establishment of Special Olympics in 1968. In 1984, President Reagan awarded Shriver the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for her work.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away on August 11, 2009. This Saturday, please join with others in this country and around the world for an annual celebration of her life and a call for people to commit actions of inclusion, acceptance and unity for and with people with intellectual disability. Make this an opportunity to encourage others to help improve and transform the lives of people with intellectual disabilities around the world.

For more information about EKS Day, visit www.eksday.org.