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Impact stories are success stories that inspire deep emotional connections. They show our athletes achieving remarkable things and doing it on their own terms. Strong impact stories balance the role Special Olympics plays with the triumph of individual achievements. To reveal the impact for each individual, you need to understand the who, why, what, where, when and how of impact. Who is clear from our mission. We most often write stories of impact about our athletes with intellectual disabilities. To understand what and why,

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Consider this quote from an expert in nonprofit reporting. “We don't get excited about nonprofits staying busy. We get excited about lasting improvement.” That's the key to understanding what impact is. It's long-lasting, positive changes in the lives of our athletes, supported by our work. Our work leads to impact, but work itself is not impact. And why are stories about impact important?

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They inspire emotional connections while proving preconceptions wrong. They reveal the strength and determination of people who are often underestimated. They show the rewarding contrast between before and after. Everyone cheers seeing Special Olympics athletes winning on their own terms. We don't inspire emotion by staying busy. We inspire by changing lives. Here's an example of a story of impact from Pakistan.

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Man Bi had severe hearing loss. Her family and teachers thought she could not speak. Man Bi got hearing aids for the first time through the work of Healthy Athletes. We could write that story of an athlete getting hearing aids the same day it happens. But we cannot describe the long-lasting effect of the hearing aids until Man Bi goes home and lives her life with better hearing.

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Speaker 2
[Speaking in Urdu]

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Speaker 2
[Speaking in Urdu]

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Two things happened.: time passed, and Man Bi chose to act. She learned to speak clearly when she could hear how words are supposed to sound. She completed an Athlete Leadership training course. She served as an assistant coach at Badminton Camp. Special Olympics did its work. Athlete leader Man Bi chose to take action. Understanding how our work leads to impact is the key to knowing what to look for, and where and when to look for it.

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Every department at Special Olympics does its own kinds of work. Every kind of work has expected outcomes. Outcomes such as stronger sports skills, better eyesight, and knowing how to run meetings show the work is getting intended results. We see timely stories about work and outcomes all the time. It's rarer to see stories that show impact. Impact stories are about individuals, not processes.

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So let's be curious. How is Emelia using her new sport skills to help her team? What has better eyesight unlocked for Stefan? How is Kareem running meetings now with his new skills? It's helpful to remember it this way: stories about work say what the organization did. Stories about outcomes say what athletes CAN do. Stories of impact show what individual athletes CHOSE to do.

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Work and outcomes are the crucial first step. Special Olympics work unlocks possibilities, enables capabilities, and provides opportunities that no other organization does. The choice to take the next step comes down to one person: the athlete. Here is a story showing an individual athlete taking the outcome of confidence to an exciting conclusion. In Zimbabwe, Nyasha was in a special class at school.

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Speaker 3
“I didn't have confidence that I would do anything meaningful and significant in life because I've been stereotyped, I've been stigmatized, I've been victimized, like, I didn't have any friends.”

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The work of Special Olympics coaches helped Nyasha develop confidence. His confidence set him up for action. He tried out for his school's regular track team.

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Speaker 3
“I didn't make it and they said, ‘Yeah, young man, you know you are a stray from the special class, you are useless.’ So, it shattered me at some point.”

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He trained by himself for a year and asked to try again.

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Speaker 3
“They said, ‘No, you want to disgrace us as you did last year.’ Then I just kept going, you know, nagging them until they gave me the opportunity.”

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He placed first in his qualifying race and earned his place on the team.

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Speaker 3
“That was the first time people clapped hands for me, people to actually say, ‘Well done! Congratulations!’ It was quite a life-changing moment. ”

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Think about Man Bi and Nyasha’s stories to understand when and where impact happens. It took a long time for Man Bi to learn to speak well and to become an athlete leader. Nyasha trained for over a year to be ready for the qualifying race. Man Bi was at home and at school as she developed her skills. Nyasha proved he was a powerful runner at his school. So, we simply cannot see impact right away.

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That is why we need to plan to follow up a few months after a training, a health screening, or a conference workshop. Success stories can be in plain sight and await a storyteller to ask the right questions. “Would you have done that if you had not joined Special Olympics?”

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Speaker 3
“No, I wouldn't because I was afraid. I asked with a mixture of emotions. It was like a courage that Special Olympics has taught me. You can do it.”

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You can do it. Confidence. When someone mentions an outcome like confidence, it's time to ask follow-up questions. You might hear a comment like, “Playing sports has made me confident.” Sports is the work. Confidence is the outcome. Now ask a question that focuses on action: “What are you doing differently now that you're confident?” “How has confidence helped you approach new things?”

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You can tell from the answers to questions like these if you have a story of impact or not. In this interview with Joel Kigozi of Special Olympics Uganda, notice how identifying work and outcomes helps in asking questions. “What is something that helped you a lot from the board training?”

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Speaker 4
“I learned about my responsibility as an athlete representative on Board.”

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We need to follow up on the outcome of what he learned, emphasizing action. “How do you use what you learned in meetings with the Board? ”

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Speaker 4
“I put smiles on other people's faces by presenting their ideas, their challenges they face onto the the risk and the Board of Directors.”

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Keep asking questions until you understand whether the athlete did things that show impact. Those actions can reveal impact that reaches beyond the athlete to the community. Nyasha’s hard work and resilience challenged the prejudices of his peers and teachers and coaches. Man Bi's empowerment showed others that she can defy expectations, take charge and lead with confidence. Athletes sharing their gifts and skills with people in the community is exactly the mission of Special Olympics.

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Our stories must not stop at reporting what work we've done. As storytellers, we need to go further. We need to reveal the lasting impact of what we do every day all around the world.

