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 Northeastern Senior High School from York County for being named our Volunteer of the Month for February 2025!
We had the honor of welcoming Northeastern’s Varsity Club. This club’s mission is to volunteer in sports capacities around their community and discover professional opportunities within those organizations. For the second year in a row, Northeastern joined us at the 5th annual Special Olympics Pennsylvania Indoor Winter Games.
Over 30 students volunteered for a weekend of competition and excitement. We’re so thankful for the impact our volunteers make at state competitions, and we’re honored that Northeastern has the chance to be part of the Special Olympics Pennsylvania community.
Without further ado, we want to introduce you to the Northeastern representatives who had the chance to share their experience with us! Meet Physical Education teacher and club advisor Jessica Mohr, and student volunteers Chase Almes, Nicholas Powl, Maaria Khan, and Peyton Shelly.
Thank you, Northeastern, for your dedication and enthusiasm to learn more about Special Olympics Pennsylvania!
Tell us about the club you’re involved in that connected you with Special Olympics Pennsylvania.
Jessica Mohr, Northeastern Physical Education Teacher: Varsity Club is an organization made up of student athletes who are passionate about both their athletics and contributing to their community. We believe that student athletes can do more than just excel in their sports; they can use their experiences and talents to help others. Varsity Club volunteers at many school district events as well as the local community.
Varsity Club also provides valuable resources and opportunities for students interested in pursuing careers in the athletic field. Varsity Club is a club of student athletes that look to volunteer and get more involved. I am co-advisors with Bryan Stephens. Bryan was the one who introduced us to this amazing [Special Olympics Pennsylvania] opportunity.
We have gone to a couple of colleges, and we’ve introduced them to different types of occupations that can range from an athletic director, to a coach, to somebody who does field maintenance. But basically, our main focus is to get involved with the community… We want to promote better understandings of sportsmanship…
What was Varsity Club’s experience like with Special Olympics Pennsylvania at Indoor Winter Games this year?
Maaria Khan, Northeastern Senior: I mean, it was really just a community. Everyone had built-in friends, and the teams were all together. It was just awesome seeing everyone come together for the event. I just love the community. The people were amazing. That was my favorite part.
Nicholas Powl, Northeastern Senior: I really enjoyed the event. I thought it was incredibly nice to see how respectful everyone was. The players were incredibly skillful, too. The athletes were amazing at what they did.
Peyton Shelly, Northeastern Senior: I did the skills part [of Indoor Winter Games], so it’s a little different than the games. But I loved seeing how excited everybody was and how willing they were to learn more about floorball.
Chase Almes, Northeastern Senior: I also did floorball skills. Even though they’re not in the game setting, it’s still competitive and they’re always going in with a smile on their face every time.
Why is volunteering important to you and your school?
Chase Almes: What I really like about volunteering is I can put my community above myself, and I don’t have to worry about what I get out of it. I can always just look at that person across from me and see that they’re enjoying this moment, and even if that’s me doing a little work or a lot of work, they’re always smiling.
Nicholas Powl: I think the non-paid aspect of volunteering especially definitely helps me stay focused on the fact that these are people living their lives and that I can help them…
Maaria Khan: It also comes down to community again. When I was at Indoor Winter Games, I recognized athletes I saw before. It was awesome that they recognized me, and there was a bond there. I really appreciate that they remembered me. I think it’s also just volunteering in general. It’s just a good use of your time. Instead of wasting the time, you can do something constructive with it to help out the community.
Peyton Shelly: Volunteering definitely brings our community together. And I think it brings our club closer together, doing Special Olympics, because we’re all learning how to work with athletes.
Jessica Mohr: As a teacher, I think you have different relationships with your students, and you see them in different capacities. And I have to say, there are two main things that I like about being an advisor.
I like seeing them work with other people outside of school, whether that is during one of our big fundraisers. Seeing those club members work with younger children. I like how excited they are and how excited the children are to interact with our members. It is amazing.
But also, I love seeing the club members work with the Special Olympics community. Like they said, it’s just so amazing to sit back and look and see how competitive the athletes are, how the fans are just cheering so hard, and how the teams are cheering for each other, how they’re going around and picking each other up and encouraging one another to keep working hard. To see my club members involved in that and cheering them on and just being like, ‘Wow.’ And they look forward to this event. I know this is only our second year, but at the end of every event, I have members coming up saying they can’t wait until they can do it again next year, because they just have so much fun seeing that atmosphere. That sense of community is just so cool to be involved in.
During your time volunteering in sporting events, how have you witnessed sports unify people, teammates, communities, families, etc.?
Maaria Khan: It brings a sense of joy to the community… You can just come together and are having a good time together. That’s what it’s about.
There’s also a sense of teaching in sports. You understand how to help other athletes out or other people out. It helps you gain the characteristics of empathy.
Noah Prowl: For me, on a personal note, my sophomore year, I started playing tennis just kind of out of the blue. I was not an athletic person at all. I was pretty bad, but I’ve grown as a player and as a person, and I managed the girls’ team too, which Maaria plays on, and it allowed me to build a lot of friends and relationships. I got to meet a lot of new people. And I think even going against other teams, you can see there’s a sense of solidarity between members of the same sport, like there’s just that kind of level of respect that brings people together.
Chase Almes: Because I was doing skills at Indoor Winter Games, I kept asking where everyone was from, and I don’t think there was a single team from the same spot. So, it was really cool to see all these teams come to this one sports event, and most of them actually knew the other players, because even coaches knew the other players. It was really cool to see that they formed this major bond, even though they really don’t see each other more than once or twice a year.
Peyton Shelly: Seeing athletes in their sport and getting so excited for each other, they just had great sportsmanship toward each other throughout the weekend.
What would you say to someone who’s ready to take the next step and become a Special Olympics Pennsylvania?
Maaria Khan: I feel like at first, for everyone, it can be a nerve-wracking experience… But you have to realize that it’s volunteering and you’re getting this whole community behind you… You’re making friends with everyone. I feel like that’s such an important aspect to it.
Chase Holmes: If someone’s nervous, I would tell them to try and find a friend or two, because that’s what I did. That’s how I got [Nicholas] to do this with me last year. We both didn’t know what we were doing but we learned as we went. There were people at the event that were so helpful. Anytime you had a question, you could ask them over and over and they would explain it to you and make sure everything went smoothly for the athletes and us.
Nicholas Prowl: I would tell someone who was interested in doing this that I really enjoyed it. Even though I was nervous at first, just meeting all the people and making friends and meeting new people and building new relationships with others was a very nice experience.
Jessica Mohr: Going back to that word that Maaria kind of stated: Community. A lot of Special Olympics coaches came up to me and they said, ‘We remember your group from last year. We’re so appreciative. We’re so thankful.’
I think building that bond of going year after year after year, where you are seeing athletes and coaches and referees and other workers that you haven’t seen in over a year, and just them remembering you and you remembering how you felt around them… I just think it’s such a fun experience to just be able to watch and see. I know you’re volunteering and you’re doing a job, but you’re also watching others have so much fun in a competitive atmosphere, and I think that is a great thing to be a part of.
