June 18, 2001 – If you care to donate $20 or more to the Special Olympics program in the next month and a half, you can reap some rewards, yourself.
For the second year, Cingular Wireless, a national cellular telephone service provider, is offering incentives to attract new subscribers and raise funds for the sports program. Last year, its customers contributed $8.9 million nationwide to the program, according to a release.
Donations being raised nationwide now will support year-round training and competitions for the athletes and help send the U.S. team to the 2003 Special Olympic Games in Ireland. All funds contributed in the Virgin Islands will support the V.I. Special Olympics program.
Those who sign up for service through the end of July and donate at least $20 to the Special Olympics will be eligible for a free Ericsson A1228 handset, a special $45 rate plan and a gift certificate for five movie rentals at participating Blockbuster Video outlets.
The Special Olympics, founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is an international year-round program of sports training, competition and friendship for individuals with mental retardation. Over a million athletes in more than 160 countries train and compete in 26 summer and winter sports. For more information, visit the Special Olympics web site.
Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Inc. president, said the company's support will enable the organization "to reach thousands of athletes who would otherwise never have experienced the joy of the Special Olympics movement."
Cingular, a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth, is the nation's second-largest wireless company, serving more than 20.5 million customers on the mainland and in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
