Selectees Volunteer for Special Olympics

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Dustin W. Sisco

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Chief petty officer selectees from various commands in the Hawaii region volunteered at the Special Olympics at Waiau District Park in Pearl City, Hawaii, Aug. 20.

The selectees, who volunteered as referees and judges, learned about the importance of volunteering.

"I've volunteered for the Special Olympics before and I think it's awesome because you're helping out the community, meeting new people and learning about their disabilities and how hard they have it," said Chief (select) Machinist's Mate Maya Art, a Special Olympics volunteer. "It makes you more understanding about their situation."

The selectees made up a large portion of the more than 500 volunteers.

"We get fantastic support from the military every year," said Dan Epstein, manager of Special Olympics Hawaii. "We use over 6,000 volunteers a year and probably 70 percent of them are military."

The effort put forth from the selectees, military and other volunteers was greatly appreciated by those who run the Special Olympics.

"The volunteers are the best," said Nancy Bottelo, chief executive officer, Special Olympics Hawaii. "We couldn't do this without them. We only have a full time staff of seven people and we could not do anything that we do without the volunteers."