Become a Volunteer

Sport Volunteering: the athlete/coach relationship is the most important relationship of Special Olympics! This role is a great opportunity to connect with a make a difference in the lives of our athletes.

Our sports run on a seasonal basis, and a sport season usually runs for 8-10 weeks. This page provides a list of which sports are offered during each season. Depending on your sport, you would be attending 1 or 2 practices a week for that 8-10 week period. We also have a few regional and statewide competitions that we ask volunteers to attend whenever possible. The statewide competition is typically an overnight trip, while the regional competition is usually on a Saturday or Sunday.

If you haven’t volunteered with Special Olympics before, a good place to start is as an Assistant Coach/Team Volunteer. Under the leadership of a head coach, you would help to organize practice and assist athletes in acquiring sports skills. Your presence as a volunteer allows 4 more athletes to join the team! You do not need to have experience or expertise in the sport in order to volunteer; just a willingness to work with our athletes! However, if you want to learn more about the sport and about coaching, we’ve got lots of resources to share with you and if/when you feel ready you can also attend a sport certification training.

Local Team Volunteering: If you prefer to volunteer in a more administrative type role, we have tons of needs and opportunities! In most counties, we have volunteers who help in the following ways:

Fundraising Team Leader: work alongside staff in your area to help plan some local fundraising activities and events.

Community Team Leader: help us build relationships within the community! work alongside staff to support outreach to athletes, families, volunteers and local resources.

Team Leader: help provide guidance and coordination for your county/city’s local team!

Sports Team Leader: provide oversight of athlete and coach training, competitions, uniform and equipment management for your local program.

Committee members: we have committees that meet on a monthly basis to help plan some of our larger events. We are always in need of support for these fun and special events!

Event Volunteering: If you are not ready to commit to ongoing volunteering, we do have events throughout the year that are in need of volunteers! Our one day volunteers help with things like scorekeeping, timing, setting up, awards and more! If you are interested in helping at a one day event, you would fill out our volunteer application here. Once it’s filled out, you can head to our Volunteer Zone to sign up for the job of your choice.

Absolutely! The most important requirements are an open mind and welcoming attitude. People with and without disabilities are more alike than they are different. Here are some tips on working with someone with an intellectual disability:

• Introduce yourself and get to know your team!
• Please refer to our participants as athletes.
• A common misconception is that Special Olympics athletes need to be talked down to or talked to as if they were very young children. While athletes’ reasoning abilities may be delayed, talk with and treat athletes as peers.
• Athletes thrive on receiving encouragement, but let them take the lead as to what type of recognition they are comfortable with: pat on the back, high five, handshake, etc.
• Be yourself! Use your normal voice and give support but try not to over-praise. Athletes will gain the most from being judged fairly and without overstatement.
• Respect the dignity of the athletes that you will meet and work with.

If you are looking to volunteer as a coach, assistant coach or athlete as coach, participation is seasonal for each sport. The commitment, depending on the sport, ranges from 8-10 weeks, 2 hours per week. Some programs train more often, and there are opportunities for competition days.

Volunteers who assist with local program management work year-round with fellow members to develop an execute plans for successful programming. We will work with your schedule to fit volunteering into your lifestyle.

We also have one-time opportunities to assist with events and competitions! Please follow this link to see a list of upcoming events that will need volunteers.

• Our volunteer age requirements vary, depending on what kind of volunteering you want to do:
  • Head Coaches and Local Program Team Managers are 18 and older.
  • Assistant Coaches are 16 and older.
  • Unified Partners are 8 and older.
  • Anyone can volunteer to be One Day Event Volunteers and General Team Volunteers (volunteers outside the 1:4 ratio who have no chaperoning responsibilities), but volunteers who are 14 and younger must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Volunteers who are under 18 must have a parent/guardian sign their volunteer application form.

If you have any questions about age requirements, please contact us at volunteer@specialolympicspa.org.

If you volunteered at a Special Olympics event, then you have likely already filled out our volunteer application. If you log into our Volunteer Portal, you will see a “Do More With Special Olympics” tile that outlines the different roles you can have as a volunteer. Once you’ve selected the role of your choice, any additional volunteer requirements will be automatically added to your Checklist. Most roles that involve ongoing interaction with our athletes require a background check (for volunteers 18 and older) and online trainings.

Class A volunteers over the age of 18 are required to complete two background checks:

i. The PA State Police and National Background Check
ii. The PA Child Neglect/Abuse Registry Check

The PA State Police and National Background check must be completed through our background check vendor. However, we do accept 3rd party PA Child Neglect/Abuse Registry Checks that are less than 5 years old. For more information, please review our Background Check Guide.

While knowledge of your sport is certainly helpful and welcome, you do not need coaching experience to volunteer as a coach with SOPA. We offer opportunities for volunteers to attend Sports Skills trainings and Certified Coach trainings. Additionally, Special Olympics offers Sports Essentials guides as an overview to individual sports.

Sport, event and team leadership volunteers are needed throughout the state!
Follow this link to learn more about ongoing volunteer opportunities in your area.
Follow this link to see if there are any upcoming events in your area.
If you have any questions about volunteering, or if you have a particular sport or role in mind that you would like to help with, you can reach out to your area’s contact to discuss.

As a volunteer with Special Olympics Pennsylvania, you are providing athletes with an opportunity to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship. We hope that you are able to get as much out of volunteering as you give!

Volunteers are provided opportunities for enrichment, such as sports training, coach training and other continuing education programs. Class A volunteers receive a SOPA shirt and SOPA memorabilia. We honor and recognize volunteers through awards and years of service recognition. Class B volunteers receive a shirt and SOPA lanyard.

Volunteering provides an opportunity to enhance your resume, make lasting friendships, develop and refine new skills and gain confidence.

Volunteers are asked to complete our volunteer application. You can follow this link to access our volunteer application. Once you answer a few questions, you’ll be directed to our volunteer Portal, where you can determine the next steps!

If you are looking to volunteer at an event, you can select the “Sign up for an Event” tile to get involved at the upcoming event of your choice.

If you are looking to volunteer on an ongoing basis (coach, team leader, etc), click on “Do More with Special Olympics” to see the different ways that you can get involved. Once you select your volunteer role, you will be asked to complete a few more steps, including our background check (for volunteers 18+) and online trainings before starting in your volunteer position.

Not sure how to complete our online volunteer application? Our “Volunteer Requirements Guide” will walk you through the steps of becoming a volunteer.