One month ago, the South Shore Press brought you the story of how the New York State Special Olympics was in jeopardy of facing drastic cuts to future competitions due to rising costs, inflation, and stagnant funding from New York State.
Special Olympics New York President and Chief Executive Officer Stacey Hengsterman shared her mission of asking Governor Kathy Hochul to include increased funding in her proposed Executive Budget to the New York State Legislature.
Hengsterman and Special Olympics New York got their wish. Governor Hochul did include an additional $1 million in funding for the organization in her proposed 2025 Executive Budget.
“This will prevent significant cuts to our signature State Games and enable us to continue recruiting new athletes and families to our life-changing movement. The impact these funds will have in New York communities, schools, and workplaces cannot be overstated,” said Hengsterman, whose 19-year-old son Alex is a Special Olympics powerlifter.
Before Hochul’s proposed budget increase for the Special Olympics, the group faced cutting participation in Winter, Summer, and Fall games by one-third, which meant many of the 42,000 athletes from across New York State would not be able to compete.
Transportation costs for Special Olympics New York basically tripled due to soaring inflation, with buses costing $9,000 instead of $3,000 previously.
While their current overall budget is $11.5 million, funding from New York State government has remained flat for almost 20 years. If Hochul's proposed increase is passed by the State Assembly and Senate, it would represent the first funding increase in two decades.
“This is great news. We want our government to be good stewards of our tax dollars. What better investment is there than the Special Olympics? It allows athletes to participate and grow. My son started his own business, JohnsCrazySocks.com. Without the Special Olympics, he never would have done that,” said Mark Cronin, whose son John is a Special Olympics athlete who competes in soccer, basketball, track and field, and snowshoeing,
In addition to funding from New York State, Special Olympics New York raises two-thirds of its entire budget on its own, with numerous fundraisers like the Polar Plunge. The remaining one third of their budget comes from government sources and grants.
Special Olympics athletes do not have to pay to train and travel, and are provided health screenings and medical referrals as well.
This week Hengsterman is in Albany working with the Legislature to encourage them to pass Governor Hochul’s proposed budget increase, and ask them to strengthen Special Olympics funding for 2025 when the full budget is passed.
“What politician in their right mind would want to say ‘I’m the elected official who removed funding for the Special Olympics?’ That’s why it was so critical for the Governor to propose the increased funding in the Executive budget. The revenue is in there,” concluded Cronin.