For a decade Anthony Scorpio looked at the offices of the Special Olympics Rhode Island and knew something had to change. The two-level office in Warwick lacks room for athletic training, contains no space to assemble the organization’s athletes or volunteers and is far too small to store all the equipment necessary for competitions.
When Scorpio became president of the Special Olympics Rhode Island board three years ago he set out to change that. This month he will see the fruits of his labor when workers are expected to start construction on a brick, stone and glass headquarters in Smithfield that the organization can call all its own. Plans call for the eight-member staff to move in early next fall.
The 8,800-square-foot facility on Route 116 will include a suite of administrative offices, a boardroom and plenty of storage space. A 1,120-square-foot multifunction and training room will reduce the organization’s reliance on arrangements with the state’s universities for space. A boardroom will provide room for the directors to meet and for management to hold meetings. And plans call for a layout that segregates the multifunction room, bathrooms and workrooms from the rest of the facility to facilitate easier use of the space by outside groups.
Wedged between two car dealerships, the headquarters will also include a Special Olympics Hall of Fame and an education center. The entire one-level building is also being designed to specifically accommodate those with physical disabilities.
“We’ll be in a facility where we’ll be able to do just so much more,” said Scorpio, an accountant who has sat on the board for a decade.
Since January the board has worked with A. Autiello Construction and Saccoccio & Associates Architects, both in Cranston, to craft an office both affordable to build and appropriate for the use. Special Olympics Rhode Island decided to award the contract as a design-build project in an attempt to save money and allow it to continually adjust the design depending on fundraising efforts.
To pay for construction and upkeep, Special Olympics launched a $4 million capital campaign and secured corporate donations from the likes of CVS/Caremark Corp. and Dunkin’ Donuts. CVS/Caremark CEO Thomas Ryan and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., agreed to serve as honorary co-chairs of the campaign that has reached roughly half its goal. Scorpio said the organization is also in talks with nearby Bryant University about forging a partnership.
“Despite tough economic times a number of corporations have stepped to the plate to help us,” Special Olympics Rhode Island Executive Director Dennis DeJesus said.
DeJesus and Scorpio said the campaign also raised the profile of the organization that people tend to associate with the annual Special Olympics Games at the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown. The building initiative provided Special Olympics an opportunity to show off its 2,700 athletes that participate in programs year-round at locations throughout the state.
“I was one of the ones who always thought Special Olympics was just one weekend a year,” Scorpio said.
In fact, the organization sends athletes and coaches to competitions around the world. Last year sailing and golf teams returned from play in China. Next year R.I. Special Olympics plans to send a contingent of 100 athletes, coaches and volunteers to the national Special Olympics games in Lincoln, Neb.
The late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the younger sister of President John F. Kennedy, founded Special Olympics in 1968. The Rhode Island chapter started in the early 1970s. Today, Special Olympics includes 3.1 million athletes in 228 programs in all regions of the world. •
