Special Olympics has given Javon Young the opportunity to shine. The 21-year-old won first place in the 400-meter snowshoe race in January at the Special Olympics Illinois Winter Games and is gearing up for the Special Olympics state basketball competition in Bloomington this month.
Young is one of 7,000 athletes in Chicago who could benefit from the 17th annual Polar Plunge on Sunday, when thousands of people — including teachers and staff from Young’s school — are scheduled to jump into Lake Michigan to raise money for Special Olympics Chicago and help empower athletes with disabilities.
Young, who has an intellectual disability that stems from brain damage, attends the Southside Occupational Academy in Englewood, a Chicago Public Schools transitional center for 16-to-21-year-old students with special needs. He previously attended Jones College Prep, where instead of competing on the boys basketball team, he watched from the sidelines as team manager.
“He loves sports. He loves hanging out with his buddies on the team. It is a social network, quite honestly, he didn’t have before,” said his mother, Adrienne Mitchell, who lives in the Bronzeville neighborhood with her son.
Melissa Garritano, a special-education teacher and Special Olympics coordinator at Southside Occupational, recruited a team of more than 30 people — including school personnel and former Blackhawks winger Daniel Carcillo — to take the plunge with her Sunday at North Avenue Beach. Together the team has raised more than $7,500 .
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Garritano, who participated in the Polar Plunge for the first time last year, knows the funds will help her students like Young.
“If I can give them all the opportunities I can, I feel like that’s my job,” said Garritano, who recalled screaming after jumping into the freezing lake last year. “I just remember my calves burning. I tell you I blacked out during it for a minute or two while I was in there.”
Money raised through the Polar Plunge — the largest annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Chicago — goes toward transportation, meals, equipment and venue rental for students to attend more than 40 annual events, some of which can qualify athletes for state competitions, said Susan Nicholl, executive director of Special Olympics Chicago. The funds help keep the programs free for athletes to participate, learn life skills, and build self-esteem and independence, she said.
“Our goal is that everyone with an intellectual disability should be encouraged and have opportunity to find a Special Olympics team in our community,” she said.
Last year, about $1.5 million was raised by roughly 6,000 plungers who jumped into Lake Michigan. The event is on target to deliver the same results this year, according to Nicholl. There is a $200 fundraising minimum but no registration fee. People can sign up to participate through Sunday.
Garritano has seen firsthand the benefits that sports have had on her students. Special Olympics athletes focus on their ability instead of disability, she said.
When she took her athletes to the ski slopes in December, some couldn’t stand up on skis while others kept falling. But they didn’t give up and managed to get down the hill, she recalled.
“All of the athletes kept on trying, and it was so awesome to watch,” Garritano said. Three of those students qualified for the Special Olympics Illinois Winter Games and one won two gold medals in February for skiing.
When students return to school after competitions, they proudly wear their medals, said Renee Chimino, a special-education classroom assistant at Southside who will participate in Sunday’s Polar Plunge.
“If it wasn’t for Special Olympics, some of them would not be able to participate in any type of athletic competition, not only participate but excel in it,” she said. “Being able to teach them the sport and see them grow at it is really awesome for me to witness and makes you feel like you’re playing a significant role in their lives.”
Retired Blackhawk and Stanley Cup champion Carcillo, who visited the school to teach a hockey clinic in November, was happy to accept Garritano’s invitation to take the plunge into Lake Michigan.
“I had a really good experience” at the school, Carcillo said. “I had a lot of fun with the kids.” Although the students had no hockey experience, he said he was struck by their “energy, their courageousness for trying something new and going all in.”
Young’s mother said she’s grateful to the teachers and staff participating in the Polar Plunge to raise money that will benefit her son.
“I think they’re amazing,” she said. “For so many of the teachers, it’s not just a job. They’re heavily invested.”
In a couple weeks, she will make the trip to Bloomington to cheer on her son, who has blossomed in many ways beyond athletics.
“There are things we may take for granted in terms of interacting and socializing with people and looking people in the eye and standing up for yourself,” Mitchell said. “I think they learn those things from Special Olympics.”
Twitter @lvivanco