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Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver DSG (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009) was an American philanthropist. [1] Shriver was a member of the Kennedy family by birth, and a member of the Shriver family through her marriage to Sargent Shriver , who was the United States Ambassador to France and the final Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United ...
Sep 23, 2024 · Eunice Kennedy Shriver was an American social activist who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the intellectually disabled and, in an effort to provide a forum for them to compete athletically, founded (1968) the Special Olympics.
- Pat Bauer
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, was a pioneer in the worldwide struggle for rights and acceptance for people with intellectual disabilities. Eunice Kennedy Shriver believed in justice. But, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, she saw little justice in the way.
- Early life and education
- Early career
- Marriage
- Philanthropy
- Origin
- Later years
- Honors and awards
Eunice Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1921, the fifth of Rose and Joseph Kennedys nine children and their third daughter. She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart School in Noroton, Connecticut, and Manhattanville College, and received a B.S. degree in sociology from Stanford University in 1943.
Following graduation, she served in the Special War Problems Division of the Department of State, and then headed a juvenile delinquency project in the Department of Justice. In 1950, she became a social worker at the Penitentiary for Women in Alderson, West Virginia, and the following year she moved to Chicago, Illinois to work with the House of t...
In 1953, she married Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School and former Navy officer who had joined her father's firm in Chicago, the Merchandise Mart, in 1948. The Shrivers had five children: Robert III, Maria, Timothy, Mark, and Anthony.
In 1957, Mrs. Shriver took over the direction of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, established in 1946 as a memorial to her oldest brother, who had been killed in World War II. The Foundations goals were to help prevent mental retardation by identifying its causes, and to improve the means by which society deals with citizens who have mental re...
In 1968, working with the Chicago Park District, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation planned and underwrote the First International Special Olympics Summer Games, held in Chicago's Soldier Field, where 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 states and Canada competed in athletics. In December 1968, Special Olympics, Inc. was establi...
Up until the time of her passing, Mrs. Shriver continued to be a member of the Special Olympics Board of Directors and continued to work to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, but was no longer involved in the day-to-day management of Special Olympics.
Mrs. Shriver was recognized throughout the world for her leadership on behalf of persons with intellectual disabilities, and received numerous honors and awards, including: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Legion of Honor, the Prix de la Couronne Francaise, the Mary Lasker Award, the Philip Murray-William Green Award (presented to Eunice and ...
This connection helped foster a lifelong dedication to empowering those who may have otherwise been marginalized by society. Through her work in politics, government, and social activism, Eunice Kennedy Shriver improved the lives of millions of people around the world.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, was a pioneer in the worldwide struggle for rights and acceptance for people with intellectual disabilities.
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, was an early champion fighting for the rights and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities worldwide. Eunice Kennedy Shriver believed in inclusion and fair treatment of all people.
