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This is the January edition of the Special Olympics Ontario monthly newsletter that is shared with athletes and coaches. Be sure to follow Special Olympics Ontario on social media for continued updates or visit specialolympicsontario.com for additional information.

Meet Ana and Karl

We are pleased to announce that 2 Special Olympics Ontario athletes and 1 coach will be representing Ontario at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. Ana Micanovic of Ajax and Karl Dietrich of Windsor will be competing in figure skating with Cathy Skinner of Ottawa as their coach.

Ana – who has been involved in Special Olympics for 8 years – and Karl – who has been involved for 7 years – have been training hard and are looking forward to competing on the National stage. Ana says that she loves being able to “make new friends with other athletes” and appreciates the “opportunity to meet young people from all over Canada”. Karl echoes this sentiment, as he loves having the chance “to do sports with my friends, work out and stay healthy.”

Inployable

Connecting Employers to People with Down Syndrome

There are nearly 1 million open jobs in Canada. Yet due to hiring bias over 50% of people with Down syndrome still struggle to find a job. Founded in 2022 by the Canadian Down Syndrome Society and LinkedIn, “inployable” is the first-ever employment network on LinkedIn for people with Down syndrome to close the hiring gap.

Employment creates opportunities for independence and connection in our community. Whether you have a job or not, we’re looking for people with Down syndrome to create a personal profile on LinkedIn to show how many members of the community are ready to work! If you need help setting up your profile, a LinkedIn coach is ready to guide you through the process.

Join Chef Anthony on January 27th on Zoom!

This month, join Chef Anthony as he walks us through a delicious French Onion Soup recipe! Be sure to registered in advance by clicking the button below, and click here to view the recipe so you have everything you need to follow along on January 27th at 5:30pm!

Hometown Games

More Hometown Games are happening across the province!

Registration is still open for ALL of these events, so click below to participate today! 

Happening this month:

JANUARY 15

Newmarket Figure Skating

London Swimming

JANUARY 20

Huronia Pickleball

JANUARY 21

Burlington Basketball

Kingston Basketball

JANUARY 22

Halton Hills Swimming

JANUARY 28

Toronto Floor Hockey

JANUARY 29

Welland 5 Pin Bowling

Share Your Special Olympics Story

For the chance to have your Special Olympics story featured in a future newsletter, social media post, or campaign, submit your information on our Athlete Profile Form! Fill out your information, tell us your story, and submit a photo of you participating in Special Olympics, or include a headshot. 

Twitter Follower Contest 

Our social media contest is still in full swing! The contest will continue until the Special Olympics Ontario Twitter account has reached 10,000 total followers. 

To enter the contest you must:

1. Follow @SOOntario on Twitter
2. Retweet the Contest Tweet (click here to view the contest tweet)
3. Reside in Canada

You could win a Special Olympics Ontario prize pack once we reach 9,700 followers, and the grand prize of a $250 Sobeys gift card when we reach 10,000 followers! 

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