CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Special Olympics Little Feet Meet was under way this afternoon at Matoaca High School, offering a day of fun in the sun for young students in Chesterfield.
Hundreds of preschool and elementary school kids competed in Wednesday’s Little Feet Meet, where students with and without intellectual disabilities came together for a day of activities.
Kelly Mahan, the coordinator for the day’s event, says Little Feet Meets are all about kids of all abilities training and playing together, and to encourage friendship and understanding.
“We value celebrating everyone’s differences,” Mahan said. “And on this day, I tell them it’s not about us. It is about having these children come from all of our elementary schools and really giving them the best day of their school year.”
The Little Feet Meet has been in the works since last fall. To help pull the meet together, about 275 Matoaca High School students helped out by chaperoning, manning play stations and organizing events.
Over 700 elementary school students from neighboring elementary schools were present at today’s event, meaning between the young students participating and the high school students volunteering, well over 1,000 kids across Chesterfield came together.
For Amoin Koqadio, whose son goes to Curtis Elementary, she says that events like this one make a difference. Her son was diagnosed with autism three years ago when he was about 5 years old.
“Today is a very special day because right now I’m not working, so for me to be able to attend something like this it means a lot for me because I don’t know when I’d be able to attend something like this for him,” Koqadio said.
For more information on how to start a Little Feet Meet at y our school, visit the Special Olympics online.
