May 14, 2025 • 20 mins
ICYMI: Hour Two of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – An in-depth conversation with Special Olympics CEO and President, Kelly Pond, who joins the program with all the details you need to know regarding the ‘2025 Dream Big Raffle’ as well as a preview of the Special Olympics Summer Games - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app & YouTube @MrMoKelly
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's Later with Mo Kelly KFI AM six forty live
everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. We're live on YouTube, and
we're live on Instagram. Let me tell you about the
Special Olympics of Southern California. Well, they've announced the launch
of its twenty twenty five Dream Big Raffle, the organization's
largest annual fundraiser, featuring over twenty eight hundred prizes, including
(00:30):
luxury vehicles, cash vacations, and a grand prize choice between
a custom custom Southern California home or one million dollars
in cash. And if you didn't know, coming up on
June sixth at Long Beach, cal State Long Beach, they
have the Summer Games, the Southern California Special Olympic Summer
Games are coming in hot as they say, June six
(00:52):
at cal State Long Beach. And to talk about all
of this and even more is Kelly Pond, President and
CEO for the Special Olympics of Southern California.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Kelly's nice to meet you. It's good to see you.
Thank you for coming out tonight.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Wonderful to be here.
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Mo. Thank you so much for having me and I
love the intro music. It's getting me in the getting
me in the spirit, feeling great.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Let me ask you, did you choose this or did
this choose you?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
What a beautiful question. I believe it chose me.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
I started as a volunteer with Special Olympics twenty five
years ago, and I just fell in love with the
athletes and the mission. I've always been an includer in
my life growing up, but I never quite understood what
that meant or where it would take me in that
it would lead into a career passion. And I've been
(01:47):
either volunteering or working for Special Olympics ever since.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Since you began as a volunteer, you've probably no, you've
obviously seen the evolution of not only the organization but
the world around it in which we live. Because when
we talk about the Special Olympics of Southern California, you're
dealing with athletes with intellectual disabilities. Now that denotation and connotation,
what we think about that has probably changed over the years.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
How has it changed from where you sit?
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yes, Well, what I will say is that so many
people think about Special Olympics because we have the Olympic
term in our name as this one big sporting event
a year for kids, right and Special Olympics is actually
providing year round training and competition and programming for children
(02:40):
and adults with intellectual disabilities. And our programs are changing
lives through the power of sport, and so much more
so when you talk about our participants with intellectual disabilities,
they through sports are gaining life skills. Our athletes are
(03:02):
twice as likely to live independently and be employed because
of the skills.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
That they're learning through Special Olympics.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
And then everyone that is participating their life our lives
are changed as well because what happens is when you're
playing or sharing or working alongside a Special Olympics athlete
and really seeing and celebrating their abilities. It opens hearts
(03:31):
and minds to people with intellectual disabilities what they actually
the value that they bring to the community, and it
creates more inclusive communities. And we have an incredible program
in the schools. It's a Unified Champion School program where
students with and without intellectual disabilities are playing or competing
(03:53):
together their unified clubs on campus and schools that put
on our Unified Champion School program see a ninety four
percent reduction in bullying because by general education and special
education students working together, they're building relationships and those as
students are sticking up for their teammates and unified sports.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Talk to me about some of these skills that they're learning,
some of the classes that they may be taking, some
of the experiences that they may be exposed to in
their development.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Absolutely well, a big part of the program, and this
is for any of us that play sports. If you
look at the sports part of our program, when you
join a team, you are automatically learning skills about building friendships,
about teamwork, about working with one another. You're learning from
your coach, so you're learning how to build strengths, where
(04:52):
to build on your weaknesses.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
So all of these skills.
Speaker 5 (04:55):
That we all learn in sports are incredibly valuable also
for our Special Olympics athletes. But it also is giving
them a space where they see they're in a safe space,
where they see other people that are excelling, are doing
more than they ever thought was possible, and this is
really pushing their teammates to do more and see what's
(05:19):
possible as well.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I'm just realizing this. Maybe I'm just on a late fray.
But this is year round though this is not seasonal
in any way, is it.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
That's correct? It is seasonal, Like right now, we're in
our spring sports season and it'll culminate Our string sports
season will culminate with our summer games championships, which you mentioned.
We also have. Our summer sports season is bowling. We
have a fall sports season where we offer soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf,
(05:50):
and then we have a winter season which is floor ball.
So we are year round, but we're in seasons.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Tell me more about this because as we dig down
and jill down, your deal with and nurturing children of
varying ages, varying intellectual capabilities, varying levels of comfort of
those children, dealing with people they may not know depending
on their particular situation, how do you go about trying
(06:18):
to have all of it come together? It seems like
you could be a tremendous undertaking.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
Yeah. One big kind of tagline or initiative that Special
Olympics had was Special Olympics is training for life, and
it's a multi layered meaning. And one of the meanings
is because we are there for children and adults with
(06:45):
intellectual disabilities. Our programs do span an entire lifetime, so
we welcome young athletes in our Young Athlete programs, So
that's two to seven year olds where we're teaching hand
eye coordinating, you know, basic just skills, and that's open
to all. And as a matter of fact, it summer
(07:06):
Games June sixth, seventh, and eighth, we'll have on Saturday
and Sunday morning Young a Young Athletes Festival, So anybody
out there who has a two to seven year old
you can come out and they can participate in the
Young Athletes activities. And it's for individuals with and without
intellectual disabilities, and that's.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Kind of the point of entry.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
And then we have our school programs, which start in
elementary school, we're in middle schools and high schools. And
then on a parallel track, we have our community programs
where individuals as old as we have an eighty three
year old botchy ball player, So no a maximum here.
(07:49):
We have something for everyone at Special Olympics. And in
addition to the sports programs and the school programs, we
are actually the largest provider of healthcare for people with
intellectual disabilities. We partner with health practitioners with Kaiser Permanente.
We provide free health screenings for our athletes, so there's
(08:14):
many stories where our athletes may not have even realized
that they needed prescription glasses, and through volunteers and Lions
Club sponsorship, just last month, we sent over two hundred
free prescription goggles for the swimmers and glasses to athletes
that needed them. So the health program is another key
(08:37):
feature of our offerings.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
My guest right now is Kelly Pond.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
She is President and CEO Special Olympics of Southern California.
When we get back, we want to talk about their
twenty twenty five Dream Big Raffle to support athletes and
community initiatives. That's next on Later with Mo Kelly kfi
AM since forty. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
We're live on YouTube and Instagram at mister bo Kelly
our m OK E L L Y.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
kfi AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
It's Later with Mo Kelly.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
We're live on YouTube, the iHeartRadio app and also Instagram
if youre just tuning in. My guest in studio is
Kelly Pond, who is the president and CEO for Special
Olympics of Southern California. They've launched their twenty twenty five
Dream Big Raffle to support their athletes and community initiatives.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
And Kelly, let's pick up right there.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Tell me about the Dream Big Raffle in general and
how people can get involved this year.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Absolutely, thank you for asking.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
And before I talk about the Dream Big Raffle, I
want to first say that all the programs that we
just talked about in the earlier segment were able to
provide all of those programs one hundred percent free to
the athletes and their families because of promotions like the
Dream Big Raffle. So we like to say the Dream
(09:59):
Big Raffles really a win win because anybody that participates,
not only do they have a one and a twenty
chance of winning a prize, but they also are contributing
to the Special Olympics mission to transform life through the
power of sport. And the Dream Big Raffle, we're giving
(10:19):
away thousands of prizes and a chance to win vacations, vehicles,
and a grand prize for a chance to win a
dream home or one million dollars.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You know, when you say one million, you're supposed to
put your pinkup like this like one million dollars.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Do that way better than me? I love it.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
We talk about movies, so I had to throw it
about Austin Powers.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
I think that's awesome and absolutely And actually this Friday
is the last chance we're closing ticket sales, so we
want everyone, we don't want anyone to miss an opportunity
to win all of these incredible prizes, including.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
The one mone.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
I love It. Tickets are one hundred and fifty dollars.
You can go to SOOSC dot org in order to
get all of the information. And yeah, we are excited
to have this be an incredible fundraiser to help us
raise funds to support our athletes and programs.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Let me talk some more with you about the athletes,
and they are those with intellectual disabilities. But that is
such a wide spectrum, no pun intended of people that
you're dealing with.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
What are you seeing?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
What types of disabilities are you being confronted with?
Speaker 5 (11:45):
Yeah, we, as we talked about, our athletes are all
ages with all different types of abilities. So, and we
also offer programs for people without intellectual disabilities with our
unified pro So we're bringing people with and without intellectual
disabilities together for Unified. So we like to say there's
(12:06):
something for everyone at Special Olympics. And one of the
things that when you ask the question about how our
athletes lives are changed, what types of things are learning.
Another program that we have is our Athlete Leadership program,
where athletes are really learning different skills on how to
(12:30):
talk about how Special Olympics has changed their lives out
in the community, and they also are stepping up to
work and be alongside us and delivering our programs. One
of our most popular athlete leadership activities now is our
athletes want to learn to be coaches. They want to
coach their fellow athletes, and so that's another part of
(12:52):
our athlete leadership program. So really what we're trying to
do is help provide the support and the tools everyone
our athletes, our Unified partners, can be the best that
they could be.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'm gonna throw you a curveball, yeah, And I was
just thinking about this in the moment. I suspect over
the many years in which you've been associated with the organization,
there are particular names, there are particular stories for particular
people who may come to mind. Whereas like I saw
how Special Olympics of Southern California transformed her.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Life and now she is dot dot do who comes
to mind?
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Oh my gosh, Well, as you started asking that question,
my mind was flooded with stories. You know, One specific
story that stands out and hits a lot of the
different programs that we offer is my colleague, Dustin Plunkett.
And when I first started Special Olympics, Dustin just started
(13:55):
going through our athlete leadership training program. At that time,
it was called a global Messenger program, and that was
and we still have that, but being an athlete leader
involved so many other opportunities U twenty years later now,
but Dustin has built an incredible portfolio of experiences and
(14:16):
accomplishments since joining Special Olympics. And while he while I
saw him starting as a global messenger, he has since
become an ESPN commentator.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
For our World Games.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
He works at Special Olympics. He has served on the
board of Directors. He has worked at Special Olympics World Games.
He also has an incredible story. I mentioned the Healthy
Athletes program. The Healthy Athletes program saved his life. He
went through the dental screening program and nobody tells this
(14:57):
story better than him, but essentially, the dental practitioner that
did his check told him and his coach that he
needed to go see a dentist. They found cancer, they
were able to remove it, and thank goodness, he's able
to now talk to others about the importance of getting
(15:19):
the health screenings in order to not only help improve
health and wellness, but also it could be life saving.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
That's the voice of Kelly Pond, President and CEO the
Special Olympics of Southern California. This Pond, Can I get
you to stay around for one more second? Because I
want to make sure that we reach as many people
as possible to inform them of what they need to
do when they need to do it by as in
this Friday, so we can get the biggest benefit and
turnout for this twenty twenty five dream big raffle.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Can you help me out?
Speaker 4 (15:48):
Absolutely, we'd love to.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It's Later with Moe Kelly KFI AM six forty Live everywhere,
on YouTube, the iHeartRadio app, and Instagram.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Come join the conversation.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty Lay with.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Kelly on k.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And six.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Live everywhere on YouTube, the iHeartRadio app, and Instagram, and
if you're just tuning in, I'm continuing my conversation with
Kelly Pond, who's president and CEO with Special Olympics of
Southern California, and we're joined together because we're talking about
the twenty twenty five Dream Big Raffle to support athletes
and community initiatives, which closes this Friday, So people need
(16:36):
to hurry up and get on it, and do I
have this right? They can go to a excuse me,
SOSC dot org.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
That's correct, SICC dot org to buy your tickets. Tickets
are one hundred and fifty dollars. You can buy a
multipack of tickets and it's a one in twenty five
chance of winning a prize. We're giving over two thousand,
eight hundred prizes away, including a chance at a Southern
California Dream.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Home or Okay, you're looking at.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
You, that's right, So you go to so osc dot
org for all the details. This Friday is the deadline
to buy tickets and then we will do the grand
prize draw all the winners on June twelfth.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
June twelfth, but also very quickly I started the conversation
talking about what was going to happen on June six
at cal State Long Beach. As far as the Summer Games,
can you tell me about that?
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (17:34):
So, our Special Olympics Summer Games Championships at cal State
Long Beach June sixth, seventh, and eighth O is our
championship competition for the athletes that have been training and
competing in our spring sports season. They'll be over twelve
hundred athletes competing and will be competing in basketball.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yes, that's not a small number.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Yeah, it's a great time. And you know, one hundred
percent free to come out and watch the athletes and
cheer them all.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Say that again, Stefan, She said, free is in free
ninety nine free.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Ooh, I like it. Okay, that's awesome.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
We want to fill this dand so we have our
athletes competing in basketball, track and field, swimming, BATCHI ball.
So you come on out, you cheer on our athletes.
We also could still use some volunteers. You can go
to that same website SOOSC dot org and you can
look at volunteer opportunities. All of these programs are one
(18:36):
hundred percent free to the athletes and their families, So
buy a dream big raffle ticket, support our athletes, get
your own chance to win a twenty one and twenty
five chance of winning a prize all to support our athletes.
And then you can come and see your support in
action by watching our athletes at Summer Games.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
When we began our conversation, I was asking you a
semi personal question as far as some of the personal
memories you have of an individual or individuals who've come
through the program and have gone on to do successful things.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
I imagine, But tell me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
I imagine when you get to watch the Summer Games,
or you get to watch these children turn into adults,
you might drop a tier every now and then.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
It's hard to find someone that wouldn't. Yeah, it's absolutely correct.
The inspiration that our athletes show when they're out on
the field is inspiring. And most people say that when
they volunteer, they get so much more than they actually give.
And so you come out to the games and you
get hooked.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
One more time.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
For those who weren't listening or just may have joined
the conversation, how can they go about getting their raffle
ticket to support athletes and community initiatives for the Special
Elements of Southern California as part of the Dream Big Raffle.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Absolutely go to SOOSC dotorg for information on our Dream
Big Raffle. Tickets are one hundred and fifty dollars or
there's multi ticket packs. You have a one and twenty
five chance of winning a prize, including that grand prize
of a Dream Big Raffle or one million allion dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Kelly Pom, this is the first time we had the
opportunity or the occasion to have a conversation, but can
we make this an annual conversational Whenever you have anything
that you would like to highlight with the Special Olympics
of Southern California, I'd be honored and please to have
you back anytime.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
I would love it. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Mo.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
It's Later with Mo Kelly CAFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app, We're still live on YouTube,
and we're still live on Instagram at mister Mo Kelly,
m R M O K E L L Y.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's Later with Mo Kelly KFI AM six forty live
everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. We're live on YouTube, and
we're live on Instagram. Let me tell you about the
Special Olympics of Southern California. Well, they've announced the launch
of its twenty twenty five Dream Big Raffle, the organization's
largest annual fundraiser, featuring over twenty eight hundred prizes, including
(00:30):
luxury vehicles, cash vacations, and a grand prize choice between
a custom custom Southern California home or one million dollars
in cash. And if you didn't know, coming up on
June sixth at Long Beach, cal State Long Beach, they
have the Summer Games, the Southern California Special Olympic Summer
Games are coming in hot as they say, June six
(00:52):
at cal State Long Beach. And to talk about all
of this and even more is Kelly Pond, President and
CEO for the Special Olympics of Southern California.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Kelly's nice to meet you. It's good to see you.
Thank you for coming out tonight.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Wonderful to be here.
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Mo. Thank you so much for having me and I
love the intro music. It's getting me in the getting
me in the spirit, feeling great.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Let me ask you, did you choose this or did
this choose you?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
What a beautiful question. I believe it chose me.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
I started as a volunteer with Special Olympics twenty five
years ago, and I just fell in love with the
athletes and the mission. I've always been an includer in
my life growing up, but I never quite understood what
that meant or where it would take me in that
it would lead into a career passion. And I've been
(01:47):
either volunteering or working for Special Olympics ever since.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Since you began as a volunteer, you've probably no, you've
obviously seen the evolution of not only the organization but
the world around it in which we live. Because when
we talk about the Special Olympics of Southern California, you're
dealing with athletes with intellectual disabilities. Now that denotation and connotation,
what we think about that has probably changed over the years.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
How has it changed from where you sit?
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yes, Well, what I will say is that so many
people think about Special Olympics because we have the Olympic
term in our name as this one big sporting event
a year for kids, right and Special Olympics is actually
providing year round training and competition and programming for children
(02:40):
and adults with intellectual disabilities. And our programs are changing
lives through the power of sport, and so much more
so when you talk about our participants with intellectual disabilities,
they through sports are gaining life skills. Our athletes are
(03:02):
twice as likely to live independently and be employed because
of the skills.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
That they're learning through Special Olympics.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
And then everyone that is participating their life our lives
are changed as well because what happens is when you're
playing or sharing or working alongside a Special Olympics athlete
and really seeing and celebrating their abilities. It opens hearts
(03:31):
and minds to people with intellectual disabilities what they actually
the value that they bring to the community, and it
creates more inclusive communities. And we have an incredible program
in the schools. It's a Unified Champion School program where
students with and without intellectual disabilities are playing or competing
(03:53):
together their unified clubs on campus and schools that put
on our Unified Champion School program see a ninety four
percent reduction in bullying because by general education and special
education students working together, they're building relationships and those as
students are sticking up for their teammates and unified sports.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Talk to me about some of these skills that they're learning,
some of the classes that they may be taking, some
of the experiences that they may be exposed to in
their development.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Absolutely well, a big part of the program, and this
is for any of us that play sports. If you
look at the sports part of our program, when you
join a team, you are automatically learning skills about building friendships,
about teamwork, about working with one another. You're learning from
your coach, so you're learning how to build strengths, where
(04:52):
to build on your weaknesses.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
So all of these skills.
Speaker 5 (04:55):
That we all learn in sports are incredibly valuable also
for our Special Olympics athletes. But it also is giving
them a space where they see they're in a safe space,
where they see other people that are excelling, are doing
more than they ever thought was possible, and this is
really pushing their teammates to do more and see what's
(05:19):
possible as well.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I'm just realizing this. Maybe I'm just on a late fray.
But this is year round though this is not seasonal
in any way, is it.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
That's correct? It is seasonal, Like right now, we're in
our spring sports season and it'll culminate Our string sports
season will culminate with our summer games championships, which you mentioned.
We also have. Our summer sports season is bowling. We
have a fall sports season where we offer soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf,
(05:50):
and then we have a winter season which is floor ball.
So we are year round, but we're in seasons.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Tell me more about this because as we dig down
and jill down, your deal with and nurturing children of
varying ages, varying intellectual capabilities, varying levels of comfort of
those children, dealing with people they may not know depending
on their particular situation, how do you go about trying
(06:18):
to have all of it come together? It seems like
you could be a tremendous undertaking.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
Yeah. One big kind of tagline or initiative that Special
Olympics had was Special Olympics is training for life, and
it's a multi layered meaning. And one of the meanings
is because we are there for children and adults with
(06:45):
intellectual disabilities. Our programs do span an entire lifetime, so
we welcome young athletes in our Young Athlete programs, So
that's two to seven year olds where we're teaching hand
eye coordinating, you know, basic just skills, and that's open
to all. And as a matter of fact, it summer
(07:06):
Games June sixth, seventh, and eighth, we'll have on Saturday
and Sunday morning Young a Young Athletes Festival, So anybody
out there who has a two to seven year old
you can come out and they can participate in the
Young Athletes activities. And it's for individuals with and without
intellectual disabilities, and that's.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Kind of the point of entry.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
And then we have our school programs, which start in
elementary school, we're in middle schools and high schools. And
then on a parallel track, we have our community programs
where individuals as old as we have an eighty three
year old botchy ball player, So no a maximum here.
(07:49):
We have something for everyone at Special Olympics. And in
addition to the sports programs and the school programs, we
are actually the largest provider of healthcare for people with
intellectual disabilities. We partner with health practitioners with Kaiser Permanente.
We provide free health screenings for our athletes, so there's
(08:14):
many stories where our athletes may not have even realized
that they needed prescription glasses, and through volunteers and Lions
Club sponsorship, just last month, we sent over two hundred
free prescription goggles for the swimmers and glasses to athletes
that needed them. So the health program is another key
(08:37):
feature of our offerings.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
My guest right now is Kelly Pond.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
She is President and CEO Special Olympics of Southern California.
When we get back, we want to talk about their
twenty twenty five Dream Big Raffle to support athletes and
community initiatives. That's next on Later with Mo Kelly kfi
AM since forty. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
We're live on YouTube and Instagram at mister bo Kelly
our m OK E L L Y.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
kfi AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
It's Later with Mo Kelly.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
We're live on YouTube, the iHeartRadio app and also Instagram
if youre just tuning in. My guest in studio is
Kelly Pond, who is the president and CEO for Special
Olympics of Southern California. They've launched their twenty twenty five
Dream Big Raffle to support their athletes and community initiatives.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
And Kelly, let's pick up right there.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Tell me about the Dream Big Raffle in general and
how people can get involved this year.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Absolutely, thank you for asking.
Speaker 5 (09:37):
And before I talk about the Dream Big Raffle, I
want to first say that all the programs that we
just talked about in the earlier segment were able to
provide all of those programs one hundred percent free to
the athletes and their families because of promotions like the
Dream Big Raffle. So we like to say the Dream
(09:59):
Big Raffles really a win win because anybody that participates,
not only do they have a one and a twenty
chance of winning a prize, but they also are contributing
to the Special Olympics mission to transform life through the
power of sport. And the Dream Big Raffle, we're giving
(10:19):
away thousands of prizes and a chance to win vacations, vehicles,
and a grand prize for a chance to win a
dream home or one million dollars.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You know, when you say one million, you're supposed to
put your pinkup like this like one million dollars.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Do that way better than me? I love it.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
We talk about movies, so I had to throw it
about Austin Powers.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
I think that's awesome and absolutely And actually this Friday
is the last chance we're closing ticket sales, so we
want everyone, we don't want anyone to miss an opportunity
to win all of these incredible prizes, including.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
The one mone.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
I love It. Tickets are one hundred and fifty dollars.
You can go to SOOSC dot org in order to
get all of the information. And yeah, we are excited
to have this be an incredible fundraiser to help us
raise funds to support our athletes and programs.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Let me talk some more with you about the athletes,
and they are those with intellectual disabilities. But that is
such a wide spectrum, no pun intended of people that
you're dealing with.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
What are you seeing?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
What types of disabilities are you being confronted with?
Speaker 5 (11:45):
Yeah, we, as we talked about, our athletes are all
ages with all different types of abilities. So, and we
also offer programs for people without intellectual disabilities with our
unified pro So we're bringing people with and without intellectual
disabilities together for Unified. So we like to say there's
(12:06):
something for everyone at Special Olympics. And one of the
things that when you ask the question about how our
athletes lives are changed, what types of things are learning.
Another program that we have is our Athlete Leadership program,
where athletes are really learning different skills on how to
(12:30):
talk about how Special Olympics has changed their lives out
in the community, and they also are stepping up to
work and be alongside us and delivering our programs. One
of our most popular athlete leadership activities now is our
athletes want to learn to be coaches. They want to
coach their fellow athletes, and so that's another part of
(12:52):
our athlete leadership program. So really what we're trying to
do is help provide the support and the tools everyone
our athletes, our Unified partners, can be the best that
they could be.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'm gonna throw you a curveball, yeah, And I was
just thinking about this in the moment. I suspect over
the many years in which you've been associated with the organization,
there are particular names, there are particular stories for particular
people who may come to mind. Whereas like I saw
how Special Olympics of Southern California transformed her.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Life and now she is dot dot do who comes
to mind?
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Oh my gosh, Well, as you started asking that question,
my mind was flooded with stories. You know, One specific
story that stands out and hits a lot of the
different programs that we offer is my colleague, Dustin Plunkett.
And when I first started Special Olympics, Dustin just started
(13:55):
going through our athlete leadership training program. At that time,
it was called a global Messenger program, and that was
and we still have that, but being an athlete leader
involved so many other opportunities U twenty years later now,
but Dustin has built an incredible portfolio of experiences and
(14:16):
accomplishments since joining Special Olympics. And while he while I
saw him starting as a global messenger, he has since
become an ESPN commentator.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
For our World Games.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
He works at Special Olympics. He has served on the
board of Directors. He has worked at Special Olympics World Games.
He also has an incredible story. I mentioned the Healthy
Athletes program. The Healthy Athletes program saved his life. He
went through the dental screening program and nobody tells this
(14:57):
story better than him, but essentially, the dental practitioner that
did his check told him and his coach that he
needed to go see a dentist. They found cancer, they
were able to remove it, and thank goodness, he's able
to now talk to others about the importance of getting
(15:19):
the health screenings in order to not only help improve
health and wellness, but also it could be life saving.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
That's the voice of Kelly Pond, President and CEO the
Special Olympics of Southern California. This Pond, Can I get
you to stay around for one more second? Because I
want to make sure that we reach as many people
as possible to inform them of what they need to
do when they need to do it by as in
this Friday, so we can get the biggest benefit and
turnout for this twenty twenty five dream big raffle.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Can you help me out?
Speaker 4 (15:48):
Absolutely, we'd love to.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It's Later with Moe Kelly KFI AM six forty Live everywhere,
on YouTube, the iHeartRadio app, and Instagram.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Come join the conversation.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty Lay with.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Kelly on k.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And six.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Live everywhere on YouTube, the iHeartRadio app, and Instagram, and
if you're just tuning in, I'm continuing my conversation with
Kelly Pond, who's president and CEO with Special Olympics of
Southern California, and we're joined together because we're talking about
the twenty twenty five Dream Big Raffle to support athletes
and community initiatives, which closes this Friday, So people need
(16:36):
to hurry up and get on it, and do I
have this right? They can go to a excuse me,
SOSC dot org.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
That's correct, SICC dot org to buy your tickets. Tickets
are one hundred and fifty dollars. You can buy a
multipack of tickets and it's a one in twenty five
chance of winning a prize. We're giving over two thousand,
eight hundred prizes away, including a chance at a Southern
California Dream.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
Home or Okay, you're looking at.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
You, that's right, So you go to so osc dot
org for all the details. This Friday is the deadline
to buy tickets and then we will do the grand
prize draw all the winners on June twelfth.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
June twelfth, but also very quickly I started the conversation
talking about what was going to happen on June six
at cal State Long Beach. As far as the Summer Games,
can you tell me about that?
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (17:34):
So, our Special Olympics Summer Games Championships at cal State
Long Beach June sixth, seventh, and eighth O is our
championship competition for the athletes that have been training and
competing in our spring sports season. They'll be over twelve
hundred athletes competing and will be competing in basketball.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Yes, that's not a small number.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Yeah, it's a great time. And you know, one hundred
percent free to come out and watch the athletes and
cheer them all.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Say that again, Stefan, She said, free is in free
ninety nine free.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Ooh, I like it. Okay, that's awesome.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
We want to fill this dand so we have our
athletes competing in basketball, track and field, swimming, BATCHI ball.
So you come on out, you cheer on our athletes.
We also could still use some volunteers. You can go
to that same website SOOSC dot org and you can
look at volunteer opportunities. All of these programs are one
(18:36):
hundred percent free to the athletes and their families, So
buy a dream big raffle ticket, support our athletes, get
your own chance to win a twenty one and twenty
five chance of winning a prize all to support our athletes.
And then you can come and see your support in
action by watching our athletes at Summer Games.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
When we began our conversation, I was asking you a
semi personal question as far as some of the personal
memories you have of an individual or individuals who've come
through the program and have gone on to do successful things.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
I imagine, But tell me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
I imagine when you get to watch the Summer Games,
or you get to watch these children turn into adults,
you might drop a tier every now and then.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
It's hard to find someone that wouldn't. Yeah, it's absolutely correct.
The inspiration that our athletes show when they're out on
the field is inspiring. And most people say that when
they volunteer, they get so much more than they actually give.
And so you come out to the games and you
get hooked.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
One more time.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
For those who weren't listening or just may have joined
the conversation, how can they go about getting their raffle
ticket to support athletes and community initiatives for the Special
Elements of Southern California as part of the Dream Big Raffle.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Absolutely go to SOOSC dotorg for information on our Dream
Big Raffle. Tickets are one hundred and fifty dollars or
there's multi ticket packs. You have a one and twenty
five chance of winning a prize, including that grand prize
of a Dream Big Raffle or one million allion dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Kelly Pom, this is the first time we had the
opportunity or the occasion to have a conversation, but can
we make this an annual conversational Whenever you have anything
that you would like to highlight with the Special Olympics
of Southern California, I'd be honored and please to have
you back anytime.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
I would love it. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Mo.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
It's Later with Mo Kelly CAFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app, We're still live on YouTube,
and we're still live on Instagram at mister Mo Kelly,
m R M O K E L L Y.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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