Volunteers are the backbone of Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Without our volunteers, we’d never be able to provide competition, leadership, health and so many other opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Pennsylvania.
Congratulations to Emily Brent, Clarion County, for being named our Volunteer of the Month for August 2024!
Emily continuously advocates for Special Olympics Pennsylvania and what it has to offer. Whether it’s spreading the word during her part-time job or interacting with the local community, she’s tirelessly recruiting more athletes, coaches, and volunteers.
We were so excited to chat with Emily to learn more about her involvement with Special Olympics Pennsylvania, his first time at Summer Games this year, how Special Olympics Pennsylvania impacts her daily life, and so much more. Thank you for all that you do, Emily! We’re so grateful for your support and dedication.
“I’m from Clarion, Pennsylvania and I’m a volunteer coach. I taught special education for 30 years and when I retired, I wanted to volunteer. I was able to contact somebody who was already part of it in Clarion and said, ‘Hey, when I retire, THIS is what I want to do.
This past year, I coached skills for basketball and that was mostly our younger athletes… I was also able to recruit some people locally to join us as athletes as well. It’s basically just becoming familiar with what Special Olympics has to offer, and then reaching out to the community.
For me, I keep [volunteering and coaching] because it’s all about the athletes. It’s the same reason I went into teaching special education. It was because I wanted to be able to help people. So, being able to see athletes be successful in an area that might be difficult for them, that’s what it’s all about.
Anything I do for Special Olympics… It’s all about getting the athletes out there, seeing them accomplish what they set out for, and just the joy on their faces and their family’s faces.
My daughter volunteers for [Special Olympics Pennsylvania] as well and I asked her, ‘What’s my favorite memory?’
It’s really just seeing the kids and adult athletes succeed. This was my first year going to regionals and my first year going to states. Our skills team brought home all gold. The kids were just… It’s makes you want to cry; it gives you goosebumps. It’s seeing that joy… I tried to come up with a favorite memory, but they’re all good memories.
My experience at Penn State was good, but it was different! It was all new to me because I’d never been to state games before. Someone said something about our [regional] coaches at the coaches meeting at Penn State about how well integrated we are with athletes in terms of expressing, sharing joy, sadness, whatever it is. Whether you win or lose, we are like a family. That comment to our head coach made me feel really good.
I just like that everybody there was the same, even though they’re individually different. Our athletes felt like they fit in… At the stadium during Opening Ceremonies, when we were throwing the beach balls, you could look around at the different colors of T-shirts and recognize everybody has their people where they belong.
Everybody was also so friendly and patient at Penn State… For such a large program they had to put on, I could not have done that any better myself. The way it was organized and everything… I just enjoy the positivity.
For future volunteers… Just come to a practice! There’s only about five of us in our county that volunteer, so it makes it hard for us to try and add more sports. Especially during the fall season. If we want to do bocce, then we can’t do volleyball. Because we’re such a small group, they can only compete in one sport each. It would just be beneficial for everybody if they just come and see the practice and see how easy it is. We are so go with the flow. You know, it’s kind of how we run things…
We don’t always know exactly what we’re doing. We did basketball last year. This year, we’re doing powerlifting and volleyball. Hopefully next year we can add bocce ball and golf. You know, it’s hard to do with just five people! You can only be trained as a coach in so many different things for each season. I guess that’s one of our big challenges — getting volunteers on a more consistent basis.
Transportation can be a big issue for us, so sometimes we even go out and pick the athletes up if we need to. We want them there; we need them in order for all of us to be successful!
I’m very fortunate that I’m able to volunteer. It was one of my goals to give back to the community when I retired, and I’m glad I’m fortunate to be able to.”
Allison Brent said, “Emily has spent a good portion of her retirement volunteering for Special Olympics Clarion County and works part time as a job coach for exceptional young adults and upperclassmen in high school.
Emily has volunteered for SOPA basketball and bowling. She is a vital member of our team – whether it is bringing necessities to events, fundraising or making sure athletes are able to attend practice, Emily is always there.
This summer, Emily volunteered even more of her own time to set up social activities/meet ups (such as the movies & lunch, going to the fair) for our young athletes this summer.
Clarion County SOPA would not be the same without having Emily Brent on our team!!”
Someone also submitted, “Emily is nothing but the best. She is always looking out for the [athletes] and what is in their best favor. She goes above and beyond in everything she does and deserves recognition of her own.”
