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Jane “Janey” Vermeulen lived her life to the fullest while inspiring others to pursue their own best quality of life, regardless of limitations.

Living large was a personality trait that came naturally to the Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athlete and was undeniably infectious. “She just lived it,” said Angela Martin, Senior Associate Director at the Michigan Development Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) at Wayne State University, warmly remembering Janey who passed away unexpectedly in 2022. “She made me want to be more of a life-living person who loved the moment.”

Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) is making major construction milestones transforming the once South Christian High School into the world’s largest inclusive sports facility - the Special Olympics Michigan Unified Sports & Inclusion Center.

More than 1,100 athletes & Unified partners to participate in tournaments for the November Classic, part of SOMI State Fall Games. The November Classic is one of six state-level competitions held throughout the year at Special Olympics Michigan. Additionally, more than 700 competitions are offered at local and regional levels each year. Information on the tournaments can be found here.

Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) is pleased to announce Fisher Magnet Upper Academy is being recognized as a Special Olympics National Banner School and an ESPN Honor Roll School for its work in the Unified Champion Schools strategy. This is the highest honor a school can receive by Special Olympics International. 

More than 700 athletes participated in soccer, kayaking, cycling, and golf competitions as part of the 2023 State Fall Games presented by the Real Estate One Charitable Foundation. Read how a Detroit sports team takes on a new challenge, resulting in confidence, camaraderie, and quality competition. 

Hundreds of Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athletes and Unified partners are training in preparation for the 2023 State Fall Games. September 22 and September 23, 2023, individuals and teams will compete in golf, soccer, kayaking, and cycling events.

“If I ever need anything I just call… Joan,” Jaeley Huelskamp cringed and laughed as she said the name “Joan.” Joan is more commonly known to Huelskam as “Mrs. Robertson.” It was only recently the two women transitioned from a student-teacher relationship to peers.

Huelskamp completed her inaugural year as an educator at Lake Fenton High School a few months ago. She first met Joan Robertson more than a decade ago, in 2013, as a freshman at Grand Blanc High School. Robertson was leading a new after-school program known as Project UNIFY.

“We like to think of our AmeriCorps positions as service positions. What we’re doing is a service, not a job,” said Austin Shepherd, a Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) AmeriCorps Member. “It’s not ‘I went to work today’ it’s ‘I went to serve today’,” he explained about what he calls ‘The Service Mindset,’ a common personality trait amongst his AmeriCorps colleagues. 

Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 have come and gone, but for the Michigan members representing Special Olympics USA (SO USA), the memories will not soon fade.

Randy Coleman of Horton, Michigan, has been involved with Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) for 13 years. His involvement started as a parent in 2009 when his daughter, Stephanie, signed up to play soccer as an athlete. What started out as helping in practices, led him to become more involved.

Special Olympics is part of a family,” Coleman explained. “What I really enjoy the most is working with the athletes, seeing how they compete, the fulfillment they get out of being part of something, finding out what they can do ability-wise through practice and competition.”

Aerobatics is not a sport offered at Special Olympics; it’s not even an Olympic sport. So, we’ll have to settle with the next closest thing to that – flying down the track. Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athletics athlete Lawrence Robuste of Ypsilanti knows plenty about flying without wings. When asked what he loves most about his four years as a runner with SOMI he said, “It makes me feel like I can fly.”